title: The couch as icon.
abstract: The couch has always been an integral part of psychoanalytic practice. It has even become a cultural icon representing psychoanalysis itself. However, minimal evidence exists in the psychoanalytic literature that using the couch is necessary or even necessarily helpful to establish a psychoanalytic process and conduct an analysis. Furthermore, it can potentially be harmful to patients such as those who have experienced early loss and trauma or who have significant ego organizational problems. Therefore, the use of the couch per se does not seem well suited as a defining criterion of psychoanalysis. To the extent that it may be clinically valuable, the use of the couch should be more carefully considered and critically examined.
authors.affiliation: ahronfriedberg@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ahron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Friedberg
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Linn
mesh_terms: D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D005619:Freudian Theory; D006801:Humans; D007374:Interior Design and Furnishings; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009633:Nonverbal Communication; D010151:Paintings / Q000523:psychology; D056888:Patient Positioning / Q000523:psychology*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011572:Psychoanalysis / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D013811:Psychotherapeutic Processes; D013561:Symbolism