Bernfeld’s “The Facts of Observation in Psychoanalysis”: A Response From Psychoanalytic Research

In his 1941 article, "The Facts of Observation in Psychoanalysis," Siegfried Bernfeld wrote that observing the sequence of events leading up to and following the patient's confessing a secret is important for psychoanalytic theory. The patient's confessing a secret is important for psychoanalytic theory. The patient's confessing a secret may follow a comment by the analyst that clears away the obstacles to the patient's confessing by creating an encouraging atmosphere and reducing the patient's shame or distrust. Bernfeld believed that the study of this sequence would be fruitful for the development of psychoanalysis. His article now seems prescient. Members of the San Francisco Psychotherapy Research Group have used formal empirical methods to study Bernfeld's thesis, and we have found strong support for his assumptions.