The journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry
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J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry · Jan 2011
Case ReportsAspects of psychodynamic neuropsychiatry III: magic spells, the placebo effect, and neurobiology.
Through a case study, the importance of supporting the positive transference is stressed-from both a psychological and neurobiological perspective. The article argues that the neurobiology of expectation underlies transference. ⋯ By understanding the neurobiology of expectation, one gains a better understanding of the neurobiology of the transference. This enables clinical predictions-and decisions-that are informed not just by the teachings of psychology but also by the science of biology.
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J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry · Jan 2009
Implications of the current insolubility of the mind-brain problem for the contemporary practice of psychodynamic psychiatry.
Abstract Even in this so-called era of the brain, there has been no consensual agreement on understanding the genesis of the mind by the brain, the problem that also baffled Freud, the neurologist at the start of his great discoveries. Especially, there has been no progress in solving what is known as the "hard problem," namely, how neurophysiological processes in the brain can produce conscious experiences, feelings, and intentions that constitute the "qualia," the various aspects of the phenomena of consciousness. Some of the predominant contemporary positions on the mind-brain problem, from Freud's Project for a Scientific Psychology to the present day, will be described and some of the technical vocabulary will be explained. ⋯ The latter two positions suggest that we simply do not know enough about the physical world of matter at this time but eventually perhaps discoveries about the nature of matter may solve the problem. But as of now, the implication of this impasse is that the introspective data of consciousness are ontologically subjective, pointing to the absolute necessity for our studying this data in its own domain through introspection. The most meticulous and thorough method for this study is psychoanalytic psychiatry, which was specifically devised by Freud for that purpose.
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J Am Acad Psychoanal Dyn Psychiatry · Jan 2007
The need for psychodynamic principles in outreach to new combat veterans and their families.
Although Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has come to be understood in primarily biological terms, the problems of returning combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan (and indeed, of their families) are best understood in psychodynamic terms. Their needs would be better met through a public health model that incorporates progressive outreach and engagement of all new veterans rather than a traditional medical model which focuses only on those with a biological disorder. Work with new veterans and their families requires facilitation of their own adaptive processes (psychological, social, and biological). This approach carries with it the potential to reorient and revitalize the theory and practice of psychiatry.