Beyond the hermeneutic/scientific controversy: A case for a clinically sensitive empirical research paradigm in psychoanalysis

This article is devoted to the topic of the conditions for a constructive interdisciplinary dialogue between psychoanalytic theory and practice and research in mind disciplines neighbouring psychoanalysis applied to the concept of psychoanalytic process. The first section reviews the contemporary controversy about psychoanalysis and research and the contributions that different disciplines—such as empirical research in progress in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, in attachment and the early mother–infant relationship, and neurosciences—propose for the construction of theory in psychoanalysis. The gaps in the scientific investigation of central aspects of the psychoanalytic conception are highlighted, such as the dyadic nature of the construction of the experience in therapy and the relationship between the implicit and explicit levels of the analytic relationship. The article concludes by laying the foundations for a novel research programme for psychoanalysis that addresses the outstanding gaps.