More on Psychotherapy

In the September 4 issue, Ethan Kass, D.O., M.B.A., accuses psychodynamic psychiatric practitioners of the belief that “only a psychiatrist trained in psychodynamic psychotherapy knows how to talk and empathize with patients” and of insulting many nonpsychiatric physicians who provide “respectful listening to their patients.”

Such statements are not only outrageous on their face, but reflect ignorance of what psychodynamic psychotherapy actually entails by implying that it can be reduced to respectful listening and empathizing, which, without doubt, are practiced routinely by many physicians regardless of specialty. However, a psychiatrist capable of providing comprehensive and integrated mental health care by combining specialized knowledge and therapeutic skills in both psychopharmacology and psychotherapy does indeed provide a therapeutic approach to alleviating suffering that is unique to psychiatrists and that many patients value highly when fortunate enough to have access to such care. Although many patients now end up in split treatment through lack of either awareness or access to the alternative, I have yet to encounter a knowledgeable patient who specifically requested it.

The field of psychiatry offers a rich variety of meaningful avenues to improve and enhance the lives of our patients; therefore, it is a source of profound disappointment to see this once-valued facet of psychiatry disparaged, and its loss celebrated by some within our very own ranks.