Beyond the Single Case Study
Abstract
OpinionBeyond the Single Case Study SAGE Publications, Inc.1998DOI: 10.1177/00030651980460031701 AllanTasman University of Louisville School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry Louisville, KY 40292, A0tasm01@homer.louisville.edu The author, Allan Tasman, is a member of the American Psychoanalytic Association and president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association. he articles by Allan Compton, Barbara Milrod, Sidney Blatt, and TNadine Kaslow and her colleagues that appear in this issue of JAPA clearly demonstrate that there is a rich potential in research in psychoanalysis, and that insights gained from such research can contribute much to our understanding of the etiology and treatment of psychiatric illnesses. Unfortunately, historical forces within psycho- analysis have played a role in limiting the contributions that the field of psychoanalysis can make to modern psychiatric treatments, and Compton clearly points out the limitations of the traditional focus on the single case study approach to research. This is not to dispute the tremendous advances in our psychological understanding that have resulted from such an approach, nor to criticize its use, but to acknowl- edge that the state of the art in psychiatric research has moved far beyond this approach, so critical to the establishment of modern psychoanalysis. The articles by Compton and Milrod