The patient is a 31-year-old, single female attorney, who was referred by her primary care physician for somatic complaints that have been worked up thoroughly, with normal results. In the past, she has been worried about and has pursued various diagnoses, including endometriosis, neurofibromatosis, and ovarian cancer, and has doctor-shopped...

After reading these articles, you should be able to…

Dr. Twersky-Kengmana is an early-career psychiatrist, trained in a mainstream residency, and she prescribes medication to the majority of her patients. Yet, about 10% of her practice is psychoanalytic. In this article, she discusses the current status of psychoanalysis, some of the evidence for its efficacy, and why she has found it so useful for her patients.

Patient details have been fictionalized in this presentation of real cases that represent common critical issues.

Psychoanalytic training may not be right for you, but here are some analytic concepts that can be useful to anyone practicing psychiatry.

We know that childhood trauma can scar our patients psychologically—but new research suggests it might actually change their genes.

Psychoanalysis is both a form of treatment and a theory of mind and development. The treatment involves the exploration of the unconscious meaning of symptoms and behaviors. The idea is that many of our patients’—and our own—personality traits and behaviors are governed by unconscious forces.

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If you are interested in part-time correctional work, the best place to start is often the local jail—as opposed to a prison. What’s the difference between the two? A jail is a criminal justice facility operated by a city or county. It houses people who are awaiting trial or who...