IPA Research Database

Since 1997 the IPA has provided funding for research into psychoanalysis. More than 450 grants have been awarded over that period, and the researchers have published many papers and monographs arising from this work. Each researcher is required to present a report to the IPA on their research results; in order to respect academic freedom, the IPA funds independent groups of researchers to carry out their work, and the IPA itself is not responsible for either the content or outcomes of the research work it funds.

Psychoanalysis has a strong research base. The IPA has supported the development of this base by funding research. This database includes descriptions of research the IPA has supported in the past 15 years.

Our aim is to make the research findings accessible to clinicians, highlighting the practical significance of research for practice. The IPA is indebted to the researchers who have provided the information. Data is still being collected and processed and, as yet, not all the research conducted with the support of the IPA is represented. Publication of further materials is ongoing. Please bookmark this site and return often to check for updates.

This database now includes all the grants awarded by the IPA under its CERP or predecessor programmes. Most of the grants have resulted in reports being sent back to the IPA; but where search results show an abstract but no clickable link, we do not yet have a report for that grant. In some cases this will be because of the closeness to the award date or we have agreed a no-cost time extension to the Principal Investigator to allow the work or the report to be completed.

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J. Stuart AblonDr. Raymond Levy;Tai KatzensteinA naturalistic study of brief psychodynamic psychotherapy for panic disorder: identifying empirically supported change processesThis study sought to investigate the effectiveness of time-limited psychotherapy for panic disorder when conducted naturalistically by clinicians self-identifying as psychodynamic in orientation. Secondary analyses sought to identify the process correlates of outcome and determine the extent to which the treatment process conformed to ideal treatment process as described by expert clinicians from different theoretical orientations. The study also examined whether the degree to which the treatments conformed to prototypical process was correlated with positive outcome.01/04/2001
Felipe Lecannelier Acevedo 
Mentalization, emotional regulation and control of attention01/11/2002
Dra. Silvia Raquel Acosta 
Descriptive and dynamic unconscious process in psychoanalytic sessions: research on the dynamic building of clinical dialogue focused on mentalization functioning01/10/2015
Dr. Joseph Aguayo Historicizing the origins of Kleinian psychoanalysis: the evolution of Melanie Klein’s clinical theory and its subsequent development in London 1914-2004 01/07/1999
Dr. Jaume Aguilar MatasLic. M. Victòria Oliva de Cantavella;Luis Mauri;Roser Noguera;Carme MiquelKleinian Psychoanalytic Diagnostic Scale (KPDS): a diagnostic scale for interdisciplinary researchThis paper is about constructing a psychoanalytic scale, which was named the Kleinian Psychoanalytic Diagnostic Scale (KPDS). It was intended to be an assessment instrument based on the theory of object relations, with the aim of introducing the pati01/03/2000
Ms. Sarah Ahlfs-Dunn Disrupted maternal representations: prenatal to postnatal stability in relation to maternal interpersonal traumaThe first aim was to investigate the relationship between maternal experiences of childhood and adulthood interpersonal trauma and disrupted prenatal maternal representations of the child (as assessed by the Working Model of the Child Interview [WMCI] and the new WMCI-Disrupted coding scheme) within a sample of 120 primarily low-income, highly traumatized women who participated in a longitudinal study (The Parenting Project, PI = Alissa Huth-Bocks, PhD). The second aim was to investigate the (in)stability of disrupted maternal representations of the child from pregnancy to 2 years postpartum in relation to the (in)stability of maternal interpersonal trauma experiences. Additionally, exploratory analyses were planned to investigate whether the subtypes of disrupted maternal representations of the child vary by type of childhood or adulthood interpersonal trauma experienced. Identifying prevalence of disrupted maternal representations of the child in a high-risk sample was also an intention of the research study, as this has not been done before in the literature.25/03/2011
Dr. med., Dipl. Psych. Luis Lauro Albalustri 
Childhood trauma, irritable bowel syndrome and early objectal relations01/05/2004
Dr. med., Dipl. Psych. Luis Lauro Albalustri 
Cortisol, objectal internal disorder and depression06/12/2006
Dr. med., Dipl. Psych. Luis Lauro AlbalustriClaudia Nancy MinichelloEarly object relations in subjects with somatoform disorders: personality factors, depression and anxietyThis paper is about determining the type of early object relations internalized in somatoform patients, to investigate personality characteristics, levels of depression, anxiety, stressor factors and their impact in somatoform patients, to establish01/09/2001
Dr. Carolina Altimir Affective regulation in psychotherapy: micro-analysis of the facial and verbal behaviour in rupture and resolution moments and its association with therapeutic changeAffective regulation in psychotherapy: Micro analysis of the facial and verbal behaviour in rupture and resolution moments and its association with theraputic change01/03/2010
Dr. Marina Altmann de LitvanSylvia GrilComparing verbal exchange of mother and analyst and non verbal interaction of mother and babies with psychofunctional problems: exploratory study based on the Cycles Model (Mergenthaler, Bucci) and Infants’ Attachment Indicators (Massie Campbell Scale)This paper is about comparing verbal exchange of mother and analyst and non-verbal interaction of mother and babies with psychofunctional problems01/04/2001
Dr. Marina Altmann de LitvanSylvia GrilMicroanalytic study of changes in psychotherapeutic processes using verbal and non verbal indicatorsThis paper is about microanalytic study of changes in psychotherapeutic processes using verbal and non verbal indicators01/07/1998
Dr. Marina Altmann de LitvanSylvia Gril;Mario Luzardo;Analia Corti;Gabriela Nogueira;Alicia Weigensberg;Emilia Sasson;Elena Gonzalez;Lic. Maria Bauer;Rosina Procopio;Laura SzterenThe Montevideo study of verbal and non verbal interactionThis paper is about developing empirical research in the field of brief mother-baby psychotherapy01/05/2003
Dr. Gilles Ambresin 
Therapist interventions and patient defenses in brief dynamic psychotherapy for depressed inpatient: an exploratory process-outcome study22/03/2011
Prof. Massimo Ammaniti Neurobiological bases of affective mirroring in depressed mother-infant interactionsThis paper is a scientific report on neurobiological bases of affective mirroring in depressed mother-infant interactions07/10/2007
Prof. Massimo Ammaniti Personality development during adolescence: reliability and validation of the Interview of Personality Organization Processes in Adolescence (IPOP-A)The original goals of the research study deals with the development of the Interview of Personality Organization Processes in Adolescence as a reliable and valid measure to assess personality organization during adolescence useful for psychoanalytic sounded diagnosis and for the evaluation of psychoanalytic treatment outcome. The objective of this research project was to validate the final version of the IPOP-A assessing (1) its reliability and (2) its validity.20/10/2011
Dra. Elga Filipa Amorim Claro de Castro 
Secondary analysis of archived longitudinal data: a new approach for psychoanalytic research01/11/2004
Dra. Elga Filipa Amorim Claro de Castro 
An investigation of the psychodynamic and personality organization associated with maternal positive and negative attributions of intentionality of infant's behaviors and emotions25/03/2011
Dra. Elga Filipa Amorim Claro de Castro Maternal projections and attributions of intentionalityThis paper is about a study of empirically measuring a fundamental psychodynamic mechanism which is determinant to the dynamics of early mother baby interaction and further emotional development. It is fairly well known that infants are born with a limited capacity for auto-regulation, and that they rely on the primary caregiver to return them to homeostasis when emotionally overwhelmed by either positive or negative affective states.07/03/2008
Dr. Eva Appelman 
Attachment issues revisited in the context of caregiving following successful infertility treatment (2 awards)01/03/2000
Prof. Dr. Rui Aragão OliveiraProf. Dr. Carlos Amaral Dias;Psic. Christine Nunes;Dra. Maria Da Conceição Guimarães Oliveira;Hugo Senra;Prof. Dr. Sandra Oliveira;Luís LoureiroLived experiences of the psychotherapeutic process in psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapyThe study of the psychotherapeutic process in psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy19/02/2009
Prof. Dr. Alejandro Avila-Espada 
The effects of psychotherapist's plans and interventions on the psychotherapeutic process through the intensive and extensive analysis of a single case (2 awards)01/11/1998
Prof. Tessa Joan Baradon Microanalysis of clinical process in psychoanalytic parent-infant psychotherapy addressing relational traumaThis research project, designed and conducted by members of the Parent-Infant Project (PIP) and the Child Attachment and Psychological Therapies Research unit (ChAPTRe), both at the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families (the Centre), aimed to examine in detail the process of Psychoanalytic Parent Infant Psychotherapy (PPIP) in cases of relational trauma. The goal of the project was to explore the micro-processes that constitute therapeutic interaction and to identify interactions between therapist, mother and infant that bring positive change in the traumatising patterns of relating between mother and infant. In addition, we aimed to develop a systematic methodology for studying the therapeutic encounter in ways that generate meaningful understanding, relevant to clinical practice. 31/12/2017
Dr. Ayelet Barkai A psychiatric perspective on narratives of self-reflection in resilient adolescents (part 5 of 5 - article in Adolescent Psychiatry)Self-reflection is a developmental competence that fully emerges in adolescence. In this paper, self-reflection development is explored from the perspectives of developmental psychology, resilience studies, and developmental psychopathology as a way to deepen clinicians’ understanding of the clinical relevance of self-reflection development. Literature on narrative identity formation in normative adolescence is reviewed, and research on self-reflection in narratives of high-risk adolescents participating in a 30+ year ongoing longitudinal study of adolescent developmental psychology and psychopathology is presented. A theoretical synthesis is proposed to account for the relations between self-reflection, competence and resilient outcome.05/12/2005
Dr. Ayelet Barkai Dimensions and new measures relevant to psychoanalysis. The creation of a coding scheme assessing curiosity expression in adolescent interview (preliminary findings) (part 4 of 5 - article in JAPA)Poster - The creation of a coding scheme assessing curiosity expression in adolescent interviews: preliminary findings05/12/2005
Dr. Ayelet Barkai Identifying resilience through narratives of self-reflection (part 3 of 5 - poster)Poster - Identifying Resilience Through Narratives of Self-Reflection05/12/2005
Dr. Ayelet Barkai Identifying resilience through narratives of self-reflection: improving the method and establishing reliability (part 2 of 5 - poster)Poster - Improving the Method and Establishing Reliability05/12/2005
Dr. Ayelet Barkai The development of curiosity in adolescence: its relation to acquiring specific adaptive capacities (part 1 of 5 - interim report)Report update05/12/2005
Dra. Graciela Basso de Llama Figueroa Very early attachment development in the premature infantObserving and analyze the autonomical and behavioral states of preterm newborn infants, while interacting with mothers and nurses, aiming to detect signals of attachment during early stages of development.01/11/1999
Jordan Bate 
Evaluating the effectiveness of the Building Blocks Model: a psychodynamically informed intervention for high-risk families31/12/2018
Anna Batki 
The development of sensitivity to "realistic" versus "marked" forms of emotion expressions in infancy as a function of parental affect-regulative mirroring and parental psychopathology01/05/2004
Prof. Dr. Dr. Ariane Bazan 
  
Prof. Dr. Dr. Ariane Bazan Secondary process mentation as a defense against ambiguity: an empirical study in clinical populations with exacerbated control using pictorial, linguistic and rebus stimuliAn empirical study in clinical populations with exacerbated control using pictorial, linguistic and rebus stimuli01/10/2016
Dr. Beatrice A. Beebe 
Risk and Resilience in 9/11 Pregnant Widows and Their Infants at 4 Months01/10/2014
Dr. Beatrice A. BeebeHope C. Igleheart;H. Steele;Miriam Steele;K. Lyons-Ruth;K. Jaffe;S. FeldsteinFrom infancy to adulthood: vocal rhythm coordination in infancy We report on a follow up of 16 dyads of a community sample, collected in infancy 1985-89, and seen again when offspring were 21 - 22 years old. The number of dyads evaluated here is small, and the associations reported are preliminary. Nevertheless, this is a rare and valuable data set, and the associations we found are encouraging. Data collection on this study remains ongoing. Assessments of vocal turn taking coordination in infancy during mother-infant and stranger-infant face-to-face interaction predicted young adult outcomes, for offspring and mother Adult Attachment Interview scales, depression, dissociation, and maternal anxiety (all p <.05). Infant attachment status at 12 months (secure/ insecure) did not predict young adult offspring or mother attachment status on the AAI, and did not predict young adult attachment status on the Conflict Resolution assessment. It is remarkable that assessments of vocal turn taking coordination in infancy predict young adult outcomes, and even more remarkable with such a small group of 16 dyads assessed at young adult outcome.22/03/2011
Dr. Beatrice A. BeebeAmy Margolis;Joseph Jaffe;Karen Buck;Henian Chen;Patricia Cohen;Nidhi Parashar;Alla Chavarga;Alina PavlakosMother-infant vs. stranger-infant: depression and attachmentMother-infant vs. stranger-infant: depression and attachment. Describe differences in mother-infant vs stranger-infant behavioral qualities, self- and interactive contingency across multiple communication modalities07/10/2007
Dr. Folkert BeenenDr. Gherardo Amadei;Mrs. Leena Klockars;Dr. Jan Stoker;Prof. Doc. MD Imre Szecsödy;Dr. phil. Sverre VarvinMulticenter project on training in and application and scoring of the AAI, RF Scale, Change After Psychotherapy (Psychoanalysis) (CHAP) interview, multicenter application of the Periodical Rating Scale, and testing and development of process measuresThe study's focus is in the realm of process and outcome research, i.e. systematic evaluation of the psychoanalytic enterprise before, during and after the treatment. Process measures will be the center of attention with the ultimate goal of adding scientific-empirical arguments to our clinical knowledge of the curative factors in psychoanalytic treatment. The value of the whole multicenter project especially lies in the creation of a multicenter-cooperation to establish a systematic structural evaluation-system of our daily psychoanalytic practice, combined with an empirical research-effort that underscores the claim of psychoanalysis to a place among the sciences. A concrete future output of the whole enterprise could be the construction of one (flexible) quality monitoring and checking system for psychoanalytic treatment. The first stage of the project concerns selections of instruments and training in relevant methods. The next stage will be to formulate more specific research questions concerning process and outcome. Some of these will be common to all multicenter groups, and some will be specific to each group.01/11/1998
Erin Marie Behnke 
The mental estate: an exploration of mentalization, trauma, risk, and resilience01/11/2004
Dr. Jack Beinashowitz 
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Process and Outcome Investigation01/10/2012
Dra. Victoria Regina Bejar 
Psychoanalytical intervention with patients suffering of fibromyalgic syndrome (SFM) (2 awards)01/11/2004
Dr. Ozlem Bekar 
"I didn’t know it would be like this:” Integrating attachment and reflective functioning in psychodynamic approaches to supporting women during pregnancy and postpartum31/12/2019
Dr. Ozlem Bekar A mother, a baby, and two treatment approaches: discussing a switch case from CBT and mentalization perspectives 31/12/2017
Dra. María G. Grivot de Benito SilvaLaura BongiardinoInteraction, initiative and creativity in the play situation: third year developmentsThis paper is about interaction, initiative and creativity in the play situation.01/12/1997
Prof. Rachel B. Blass 
Filling a lacuna in the discourse over the validation of psychoanalytic claims: a conceptual and historical study of how the clinical and conceptual approaches to research can validate psychoanalytic propositions22/03/2011
Prof. Rachel B. Blass From seduction fantasy to faith: the evolution of Freud's concepts of truth and reality between 1895-1939The aims of this study are (a) to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the epistemology of psychoanalysis, (b) to provide a specifically psychoanalytic contribution to epistemology, and subsequently, (c) to point to the potential grounds and justification of contemporary psychoanalytic theory and practice. These are derived primarily through a critical examination of Freud's concepts of truth and reality as they have emerged in the course of 45 years of his psychoanalytic writing.01/05/2003
Dr. med. Victor Blüml 
Personality organization in borderline personality disorder, bipolar affective disorder, and adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a pilot study01/10/2015
Prof. Dr. med. Heinz Böker The change of mental structure due to psychodynamic psychotherapy modulates brain activity during aversive stimulation in depression: the Zurich Depression StudyWhile there is a large body of research demonstrating the efficacy of psychotherapy for the treatment of depression, we know little about the effects of psychotherapy on the brain. In the Zurich Depression Study, we explore changes in brain activation in depressed patients before and after six months of psychoanalytic psychotherapy. We link brain activation to relevant behavioural measures (e.g. the Operationalized Psychodynamic Diagnostics (OPD-2)). 31/12/2017
Prof. Vincenzo Bonaminio 
The efficacy of short-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy for children with anxiety disorders24/03/2011
Psic. Nahir BonifacinoDr. Dora Musetti;Dr. Andrea PlevakEarly detection of risk indicators in early emotional development: interdisciplinary intervention in the first level of care (part 1 of 2 - final report)Early detection of risk indicators in early emotional development in infants between 2 and 15 months, through the withdrawal indicators detected during the pediatric consultation.01/03/2010
Psic. Nahir Bonifacino Retraimiento sostenido. Un indicador de riesgo en el desarrollo tempranoEste es tu dio mues tra los apor tes de una he rra mien ta pa ra la vi gi lan cia del de sa rro llo psi coe mo cio nal tem pra no, que pue de ser in cor po ra da a la prác ti ca del pe dia tra en el Pri mer Ni vel, fa vo re cien do una con cep ción in te gral del con trol de sa lud. Se rea li zó la de tec ción pre coz de in di ca do res de re trai mien to du ran te la con sul ta pe diá tri ca con la es ca la ADBB (Gue de ney, 2001/2007) a 67 be bés en tre 2 y 14 me ses, fil ma dos en cua tro vi si tas pe diá tri cas du ran te el año 2010, en dos cen tros de sa lud pú bli ca. Se tra ba jó en dos lí neas pa ra le las. Un pe dia tra con for ma ción en ADBB des de el ini cio del es tu dio rea li zó la con sul ta de 30 be bés, y en ca so de de tec tar re trai mien to rea li zó in ter ven cio nes orien ta das a pro mo ver en los pa dres nue vos re cur sos en la re la ción tem pra na. Otros 37 be bés fue ron aten di dos en sus con tro les ha bi tua les por nue ve pe dia tras, quie nes fue ron for ma dos en ADBB y en la im ple men ta ción de in ter ven cio nes, des pués de la se gun da con sul ta vi deo fil ma da.25/03/2011
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