In therapy? In Argentina, it's the norm

 In therapy? In Argentina, it's the norm- (posted by Jeremy Safran)


By Elizabeth Landau, CNN
updated 11:40 AM EDT, Sun April 28, 2013

Buenos Aires (CNN) -- Curled up in a fetal position, Vivi Rathbon
would stare at the textured wallpaper of her analyst's office as she spoke. Sometimes she'd lie flat on her 
back with her arms dangling off the leather couch. Her therapist sat behind her in a recliner, out of her
view. The door was locked for privacy.

This is how Rathbon, of Boise, Idaho, began her sessions of
psychoanalysis when she lived in Buenos Aires after college. She went
into therapy in 2011 because she suffered from intense depression and
felt guilty about choosing to live so far from her family.

Before seeking help, she didn't know that psychoanalysis, while viewed
as somewhat obsolete by many professionals in the United States, is
commonplace in Buenos Aires. When she first went to see her therapist,
she had no idea what she was in for, and spent the first two weeks of
sessions lying in silence.

"It was really awkward at first," said Rathbon, 26, who moved to
Argentina after graduating from college into a tough job market. "It's
very Woody Allen. You're laying there, the analyst just says, 'OK,
talk.' 'Talk about what?' 'Anything.' It's free association. You just
have to talk about whatever comes to your mind. And that's actually a
lot harder than you would think."

It's not just psychoanalysis that's popular in Argentina. The country
has the distinction of being home to more psychologists per capita
than anywhere else in the world. Almost half the country's
psychologists are concentrated in the capital city of Buenos Aires.


click on link for full article

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/28/health/argentina-psychology-therapists/index.html