Putting the Psychoanalytic Frame to Work: Why it Matters

Psychoanalysis is not just about what happens in the room – it is also about the structure that holds it all together. In Putting the Psychoanalytic Frame to Work, Allannah Furlong rethinks one of the traditional approaches to the analytic frame, arguing that disruptions – missed sessions, consent complexities, and third-party demands – are not necessarily obstacles but can be essential moments for deepening therapeutic insight.

The book argues for a benevolent expectation of "trouble" as an inherent part of the therapeutic couple getting to know each other more deeply, and as an aspect which distinguishes the psychoanalytic frame from that usually taught by professional regulatory bodies. Furlong proposes that the analyst or psychoanalytic therapist welcome framework glitches as opportunities to "put the framework to work" rather than simply disposing of them as acting out or error. In so doing, the book invites clinicians to critically examine different theoretical approaches to the framework and its inevitable breaches.

A why-to rather than a how-to book, Putting the Psychoanalytic Frame to Work aims to invigorate the practice of analysts everywhere – both seasoned and in training.

Allanah Furlong discusses her work on the IPA podcast “On and off the Couch” with Harvey Schwartz https://ipaoffthecouch.org/2026/02/08/episode-197-when-the-analytic-frame-groans-with-allannah-furlong-phd-montreal/

Allannah Furlong is a psychoanalyst based in Canada. She is a member of the Société psychanalytique de Montréal, and is coeditor of previous books including Confidentiality: Ethical Perspectives and Clinical Dilemmas (Routledge). She has authored numerous articles treating individual aspects of the classical framework and was awarded the JAPA Prize for excellence in psychoanalytic scholarship.