This book is a relevant and timely contribution to the current debate about both the nature and validity of psychoanalysis and its body of knowledge.

R.D. Hinshelwood is Professor in the Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies, University of Essex. He is a Fellow of the British Psychoanalytical Society, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He has authored numerous books and articles on Kleinian psychoanalysis. Observing Organisations (2000) was edited with Wilhelm Skogstad and is among a number of texts he has written on psychoanalytic methodologies.

Preface. Part I: Introduction. Holding the centre. Research off the couch. Possibilities. Part II: Basics: What is belief, what is science? Feeling convinced. Reality and objectivity: Concerning the 'psychoanalysis-as-science' debate. What is knowledge? The scientific model of knowledge-production. Single case studies: Their validity. Freud's claims. What about hermeneutics? Is there a post-modern approach? Inference and occurrences. So far, so good; concluding Part II. Part III: Justifying psychoanalytic knowledge. Certainty and single cases: Research designs for psychoanalysis. Selecting facts; circular arguments. Causal theories and hermeneutic theories. Theories and meaning occurrences. Change sequence as evidence. Prediction: Results and false positives. Causes and meanings: again. Part IV - Testing the test. What you can do with clinical material. A moment of repression. Sexual hyperactivity disorder. Clinical archaeology - The Ratman. Comparative research. The two analyses of Dr Kohut. Weiss' Miss P. The Angry Lad. In conclusion.References.