I and other psychoanalysts were troubled by the misleading polarization presented in these letters between a therapeutic approach based on statistically validated diagnostic categorization of patients versus psychoanalysis. The public will suffer if psychiatrists are only able to pigeon-hole patients into diagnostic categories without understanding the individuality of the person and psychoanalysts overlook the importance of diagnosis for treatment decisions. This attitude requires practitioners to understand the individuality of a patient in order to ensure that the therapeutic intervention follows from the nature of the patient's suffering and does not depend upon clinicians' rigid adherence to stereotypical notions of pathogenesis and treatment. Thus, The American Psychoanalytic Association instructs all its accredited Institutes to follow certain guidelines before selecting a student for psychoanalytic education and clinical training. While psychoanalysis may be the most effective treatment for properly selected patients suffering from certain mental disorders, it is a highly specialized procedure.
Many mental disorders require supplementary or even other modalities of treatment.
It is therefore essential that every psychoanalyst have a professional level of knowledge, clinical experience, and a professional identity that will assure appropriate care be given to every patient seen.