Holden Caulfield is a popular character to do a psychoanalysis on in the field of Psychology. Even famous psychologist, Ana Freud, daughter of Sigmund Fred is fascinated with Caulfield due to his dark and depressing demeanor as an adolescent. 

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Through a psychoanalytical lens, it is obvious that Holden may be facing some sort of depression due to instability in his life, and the loss of his little brother, Allie. Due to his brothers passing, it is obvious that Holden has some sort of cynical view of the world, believing that everyone around him is simply a "phony" and is a being that is neither with him or against him. Due to this, Holden chooses to isolate himself and battles life alone. 

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In the novel, it is apparent that there is some sort of "defense" ​Holden holds against the world. Defenses in which the contents and material held within our unconscious remain in the unconscious, and are rarely brought to attention. Some examples of this behavior Holden engages in is avoidance, selective memory, and projection of placing fears and problems on another person. Acts of avoidance throughout the book can be seen in Holden avoiding the museum, with fear of running into his sibling, Phoebe, due to a fear of rivalry or his sister rejecting him due to his troubles in school. With this, Holden has selective memory throughout the book, which is apparent in the way he fails to remember the poem, Catcher in the Rye, in which his sister must remind him that the story is not about catching bodies in the rye. Projection of placing fear and anger is seen in multiple character run ins with Holden, such as Carl Luce, Mr. Antolini, and previous friend Sally Hayes. 

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Holden also expresses a fear of intimacy, fear of abandonment, fear of betrayal, and a low self-esteem throughout the novel: all aspects which are regularly expressed in adolescents who may be experiencing some form of depressive disorder during their time of growth and development.