American psychoanalysis today: a plurality of orthodoxies.

American psychoanalysis, Freudian in origin, has recently developed in multiple directions among different groups in the current theoretical and clinical pluralistic atmosphere. The history of the effort to exclude new ideas is briefly reviewed. A survey of a group of leading analysts representing a variety of schools reveals a plethora of newer ideas, some areas of consensus, and broad areas of disagreement concerning the meaning and value of the ideas that dominate our current discourse. While we welcome the "pluralism" that has partially replaced the "rejectionist" policy of only a few decades ago, our contemporary pluralism is, to a surprising degree, a multiplicity of authoritarian orthodoxies, each derived from a particular thinker, rather than a scientific discourse. After a discussion of some aspects of the philosophy of science, the author suggests a controversial, but possible consensus view of American psychoanalysis today. The need for the creation of a psychoanalytic research effort, focused on efficacy, is emphasized.