The Psychoanalysis of Symptoms

Prevailing wisdom in the clinical arena has had it that each psychological sy- tom is a separate lock requiring its correspondingly unique key. Thus, it has been thought with respect to symptoms, that there are an infinite number of locks and a correspondingly infinite number of keys. Further, the psychoanalytic sense of it is that each symptom needs to be assessed, analyzed, and approached with reference to the unique experience of the patient and the patient's history; among other f- tors, also in terms of psychosexual conflict, and ego-strength. Given this position, it also has been felt that no single procedure, or code could be developed to address all symptoms of all patients as though, as an analogy, one lock and one key could apply to every symptom. In this sense, there has been scarcely any attempt to derive a universal code that would address all symptoms with respect to the formation and structure of the symptom, regardless of the patient's particular experience and psychological h- tory. In this volume, however, with only a few qualifications, I will present a s- gle universal code to unlock any and all specifically defined psychological symptoms. I will present a system and procedure-a blueprint-with which to do it. One key. Further, this procedure will be guided entirely by a set of propositions and axioms regarding each step in the unlocking of any symptom.