# Is psychoanalysis possible via a persons posting record? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 2, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581 "2009-01-02T12:32:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/1 "2009-01-02T12:32:00Z")
If so, how accurate could it be? How much information would be required for a fairly accurate assessment to be made? ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/2 "2009-01-02T12:35:03Z")
I seriously doubt it. A lot of what in communicated to a therapist or psychoanalyst, I’d imagine, is non-verbal. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/3 "2009-01-02T13:42:24Z")
Psychoanalysis is a lengthy process, requiring years of sessions generally. Not many psychiatrists are even trained to do classical psychoanalysis anymore. Doing it merely by reading someone’s posts would not be possible. > **[Psychoanalysis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoanalysis)** > > Psychoanalysis\[i\] is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques\[ii\] that deal in part with the unconscious mind,\[iii\] and which together form a method of treatment for mental disorders. The discipline was established in the early 1890s by Sigmund Freud, whose work stemmed partly from the clinical work of Josef Breuer and others. Freud developed and refined the theory and practice of psychoanalysis until his death in 1939. In an encyclopedia article, he identified the cornerstones of psychoan Fr... ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/4 "2009-01-02T13:54:04Z")
Isn’t it generally accepted that psychoanalysis is a steaming load of Freud? ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/5 "2009-01-02T13:59:46Z")
So, there is no way a persons mental state can be sufficiently scientifically determined, merely by a persons message-board history? I thought that might be the case actually, but I was curious what others might think. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/6 "2009-01-02T14:16:42Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > So, there is no way a persons mental state can be sufficiently scientifically determined, merely by a persons message-board history? I thought that might be the case actually, but I was curious what others might think. Sure, it’s possible to glean info and make tentative mental health diagnoses based on internet postings. It’s not nearly as accurate as doing it formally, and no competent professional would declare such diagnoses valid based solely on reading someone’s writing. But you asked about psychoanalysis, not about someone’s mental state. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/7 "2009-01-02T14:31:40Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Sure, it’s possible to glean info and make tentative mental health diagnoses based on internet postings. It’s not nearly as accurate as doing it formally, and no competent professional would declare such diagnoses valid based solely on reading someone’s writing. > > But you asked about psychoanalysis, not about someone’s mental state. Isn’t determining a persons mental state what psychoanalysis is all about, or have I got my psycho’s mixed up? ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/8 "2009-01-02T14:38:19Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Isn’t it generally accepted that psychoanalysis is a steaming load of Freud? No, but it _is_ true that most psychiatrists are steering away from seeking out a person’s root causes, in favor of viewing mental syndromes as a chronic condition that requires a lifetime of medication. Far more profitable that way. Judging a person’s mind based on their posting history only tells you how much (or how little) of a life they have. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/9 "2009-01-02T14:43:49Z")
Analysis, as I understand it, is a very specific process, as \*\*QtM \*\*links to, no doubt, barely overlapping with posting. I have thought it would be interesting to study someone’s psyche (in therapy) exclusively by words on-line–in some ways, I think the whole “non-verbal” part of the process that \*\*Trocisp \*\*alludes to above is wiggle room for therapists to go with their own subjective noise and bullshit, while being restricted to dealing with the words on the page means that their responses would need to follow more of a regimented pattern that could be observed in greater detail. IOW, if a therapist decided that one patient was being hostile in using a certain word, then he would have to show reasons why another patient who used that word was NOT being hostile in terms that his peers had to find reasonable. As I understand it, unless the session is actually being observed, the therapist would affirm that the hostility (or whatever) comes not only from the language (which the therapist would be supplying, with an unknown level of accuracy) but from the tone, body language, volume level, etc, which could be the therapist’s issues, not the patient’s. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/10 "2009-01-02T14:47:11Z")
Why dont you fuck off and die you evil, Venusian,money lending, scum. And stop reading my thoughts or else my dad Jesus will burn your house down with his laser eyes. Those biscuits are MINE! ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/11 "2009-01-02T15:25:13Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > Why dont you fuck off and die you evil, Venusian,money lending, scum. > > And stop reading my thoughts or else my dad Jesus will burn your house down with his laser eyes. > > Those biscuits are MINE! Now, is **Lust4Life** acting up for the therapist,or is he truly bat-shit crazy? 🙂 How many more such outbursts would be required to make an educated guess? ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/12 "2009-01-02T15:56:55Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Now, is **Lust4Life** acting up for the therapist,or is he truly bat-shit crazy? 🙂 How many more such outbursts would be required to make an educated guess? I meant what Isaid about the biscuits. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/13 "2009-01-02T15:59:39Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > I meant what Isaid about the biscuits. You have mother issues, don’t you. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/14 "2009-01-02T16:18:43Z")
You zeem upzet. Please tell me zum more about how you feel about zis topic. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/15 "2009-01-02T16:23:40Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > No, but it _is_ true that most psychiatrists are steering away from seeking out a person’s root causes, in favor of viewing mental syndromes as a chronic condition that requires a lifetime of medication. Far more profitable that way. Not true. Most studies I’ve seen say that a combination of therapy and medication provides better results than either therapy or medication by itself. The way you have it wouldn’t make any sense at all, since psychiatrists don’t make any money off of medications. That would be cutting their incomes rather than being profitable. I hope nobody cites your post as an example of your mental state. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/16 "2009-01-02T17:14:41Z")
I love biscuits. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/17 "2009-01-02T17:40:20Z")
Sometimes a biscuit is just a penis. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/18 "2009-01-02T17:42:45Z")
And I take it out once in awhile. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/19 "2009-01-02T17:46:13Z")
Ooh, I love penis and sausage gravy! ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581/20 "2009-01-02T18:02:15Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Isn’t determining a persons mental state what psychoanalysis is all about, or have I got my psycho’s mixed up? Just a little mixed up. Psychoanalysis is the particular process of therapy that Sigmund Freud advanced and requires a lengthy face to face interaction between the analyst and the subject. You’re talking about the more prosaic process of merely recognizing the symptoms of a mental disorder, which is certainly possible to do based on someone’s internet postings. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-psychoanalysis-possible-via-a-persons-posting-record/479581.md?page=2)