ABSTRACT
The empirical study of psychoanalysis has proven devilishly difficult. From his earliest investigation, Freud (1895b) tried to support his theories with data from the psychoanalytic situation, and, from that time until the present, this effort has foundered on recurring problems. The data is much too complex. Separating the signal from the noise is nearly impossible. In addition, the data is confidential and must be massaged in ways that are likely to distort it if it is to be made public (Galatzer-Levy, 2003). Aspects of nonlinear dynamics can help in the empirical study of psychoanalysis.
