Psychoanalysis can be dangerous in Mumbai India. Review on General Tips on Psychoanalysis

Psychoanlysis can be dangerous in Mumbai. Psychoanalysis is an antiquated mode of psychotherapy developed by Sigmund Freud a hundred years ago. It is like a religious cult with a few feverent followers. Years ago I consulted a psychoanalyst while in a difficult relationship. To cut the story short I found that the lady psychoanalyst(horse like odour) made me feel worse and I quit after a few weeks after she started scolding me(shouting. I was luck enough to meet with a good psychiatrist who helped me resolve my issues quickly with hypnotherapy. Later I moved to London where I trained as a counsellor and realised that psychoanalysis has now become a fringe therapy that aims to help people understand themselves rather than cure. discussions with british psychoanalysts revealed that they had a very poor opinion of Mumbai psychoanalysts. Remarks like “mecca is a small clinic in Tavistock” “They are more British than the English” “bizarre- narcisstic” were common. Subsequently when I returned to India to care for my ailing mother recently - I discovered that only one or two mumbai psychoanalysts have mental health qualifications. It seems that any one can become a psychoanalyst. It would be wise to be careful while choosing an analyst if your really want to. T There are allegations that a psychoanalytical trainer was accused of sexual misconduct with a number of clients and students, despite being exposed people believe he still sees patients. Psychoanalysis can take many years of five sessions a week and often become interminable. I’ve heard of people in Mumbai who have been going to their analyst twenty or more years. So please be careful. If you are planning to train as one remember it costs many hundred thousand rupees and may be difficult to recover your investment as across the world it is an outdated method that is dying out. Instead it would be wiser to look for training or treatment through one of the modern methods of psychotherapy.

Addendum;(sept 2007) anyone who has any doubts about the veracity of what I have written above -would do well to read the book "The Waiting Room" by Anupa Mehta published by Penguin India. While written as a work of fiction it details the true story of Bombay's leading training psychoanalyst and how he exploited his students sexually asnd otherwise. While he has resigned from the Indian Psychoanalytic Society he continues to see patients at Rs 1550 a shot.

While reading the book remind yourself of the fact that this was not a self styled Mumbai psychoanalyst but a Training psychoanalyst of the Indian Psychoanalytic Society one of the senior psychoanalysts in Mumbai.

Any one planning to undergo psychoanalysis or train in pscychoanlysis or do the so called Tavistock Training should read this book.

Also read the truth about the Tavistock in the book by John Coleman - The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations -Their dangerous antiquated methods are being used by many trainers such as those trained by ISABS(Indian Society of applied Behavioural Sciences)and other training Institutes.

There is a real danger that this type of psychoanalysis or even the best psychoanalyst(psycho-analist) especially in Mumbai India can harm you and be dangerous to your mental health.