Aim: We want to determine the influence of psychoanalysis on social psychiatry today and 30 years ago.
Method: Systematic analyses of all articles appearing in Psychiatrische Praxis in 1974, 1975, 2004, and 2005.
Results: While almost one in five articles referred to psychoanalysis or Freud 30 years ago, currently this hardly occurs at all.
Conclusion: The social-scientific claims of psychoanalysis often heard in the 1970 s play no role in current social psychiatry. Psychoanalysis is also losing significance as a method of social psychiatric patient care.