Developments in the field of mental health have gradually led to the next (r)evolution – computational neuroscience and computational psychiatry. These fields are mainly concerned with creating models of neurons and the brain, respectively. The possibilities provided by these models are immense. Especially in the virtual simulation of various causes of psychiatric diseases. Alongside the causative agents, it will also be possible to simulate the influences of various therapeutic tools such as pharmaceutical drugs and different types of psychotherapy. At the present moment of our interesting (post)modern times, a space is opening for psychoanalysis to be rehabilitated after many long years of neglect.
The current state of psychoanalytic theory is generally perceived by the public as cultural criticism or analyzing literary texts and films. But this is only one part of the whole enterprise of exploring the (un)conscious. Psychoanalysis was conceived as a method of treating psychic suffering. Freud did not have the modern tools we possess today. He himself was influenced by the limitations of his century and sought to approximate as closely as possible a laboratory environment through the form of the psychoanalytic session, namely, lying on the couch, free association, listening. Beyond philosophical academia, psychoanalysis is rarely used in practice, and with good reason. Few have the opportunity to spend 50min, 5 days a week (up to 3 days in some psychoanalytic modalities such as Lacanian) to explore the (un)conscious. But this does not mean that psychoanalysis and its achievements so far should be denied.
Through computer simulations, research similar to that undertaken by Freud can be achieved. One possibility is to study the effects of a therapeutic intervention over the long term. There is already enough information in the scientific literature, and on social media, to create a model of a patient suffering from a particular mental condition. Forming therapists can use these models to train their therapeutic technique and see the outcome in the form of the changing brain pattern. I’m sure some psychotherapist was left utterly scandalized by that last sentence. But doing so would allow one to (more/less) say what the dimensions of therapeutic interventions are, and would aid more scientific work in the direction of establishing evidence in favor of therapeutic techniques.
The combination of ever-improving computer models of the brain and over a hundred years of psychoanalytic practice will prove to be a winning combination. The potential of virtual environments to illustrate the effects of therapeutic technique over the long term is a tempting possibility, and not the only one, for psychoanalysis to make a comeback after years of neglect. This time backed with as much reproducible scientific data as possible.
Image of Freud from:
https://pixabay.com/photos/sigmund-freud-portrait-1926-1153858/