The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 2012, 72, (269–286) © 2012 Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis 0002-9548/12 www.palgrave-journals.com/ajp/ HOW DOES NEUROBIOLOGICAL RESEARCH INFLUENCE PSYCHOANALYTIC TREATMENTS?— CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS AND REFLECTIONS FROM A STUDY ON THE INTERFACE OF CLINICAL PSYCHOANALYSIS AND NEUROSCIENCE Svenja Taubner , Anna Buchheim, Roman Rudyk, Horst Kächele and Georg Bruns One of the counterarguments against empirical research in psychoanalysis is that research negatively influences the treatment situation. In this paper, the impact of a neurobiological study on psychoanalytically oriented treatments is presented from three different perspec- tives: patients’ views, a study group of participating psychoanalysts and a clinical case example. Twenty chronically depressed patients, 20 healthy controls and 16 psychoanalysts participated in the project on research. Results show a clear influence of the neurobiological study on the course of treatments. Patients consistently reported that study participation had a positive impact on their treatment experiences. However, study participation was conflictual for the psychoanalysts and forced them to carefully reflect on their unconscious and conscious involvement to establish a psychoanalytic stance independent from empirical research. KEY WORDS: empirical research; study group of psychoanalysts; impact of research on psychoanalytic treatment. DOI:10.1057/ajp.2012.17 Svenja Taubner, Ph.D., Junior Professor, International Psychoanalytic University Berlin and University of Kassel, Department for Psychology, Psychoanalyst, Germany. Anna Buchheim, Ph.D., Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Institute of Psychology, Psychoanalyst, Innsbruck, Austria. Roman Rudyk, Dipl-Psych, Vice Chairman DGPT (German Society of Psychoanalysis, Psycho- therapy, Psychosomatics and Depth Psychology), Lower Saxony; Supervisor, Psychoanalytic Institute Bremen; Psychoanalyst in Private Practice, Germany. Horst Kächele, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, Psy- choanalyst, Germany. Georg Bruns, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Medical Sociology, University of Bremen; Member of German Psychoanalytic Association (DPV); Psychoanalyst in Private Practice, Germany. Address correspondence to Svenja Taubner, Ph.D., International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, Stomstrasse 2, 10555 Berlin, Germany; e-mail: svenja.taubner@ipu-berlin.de