The analyst without insight (Origins and secret aims of dogmatism and eclecticism)

Abstract

The concepts of dogmatism and eclecticism are investigated in the context of their practical applications in psychodynamics, assuming that they weaken the therapist's conviction, leading them either to close themselves off in their theoretical orthodoxy or to migrate from one orientation to another. Dogmatism is exemplified by the Freudian model, considered a “reinforced fiction” that protects the power of the theory itself. Eclecticism, on the other hand, while representing the basis of progress, can also carry the risk of denying profound differences between irreconcilable theories. Theoretical comparisons are thus made between the Freudian and Adlerian models, accompanied by an interpretation of the formative and practical process of the ‘eclectoid’, which, with its transformations, can have negative effects on its users