Publications by authors named "Marcia Kaplan"

Objective: Women comprise the majority of subjects with conversion disorders in nearly all studies. The authors previously identified 96 subjects with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) and found that female sex, alexithymia and childhood trauma were strongly correlated with the development of PNES. In order to characterize men with PNES, the authors collected questionnaire data on a series of male subjects recruited from an epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU).

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Regression is a ubiquitous phenomenon in psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, typically part of a reorganization that leads to progression, at least with respect to recruiting elements in the unconscious to consciousness. Regression in patients with conversion disorder (i.e.

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Conversion disorder, the development of symptoms of neurological disease with no organic basis, is a challenge for mental health professionals to diagnose and treat effectively. There are well-established predisposing factors, such as female sex, childhood trauma, and alexithymia, but less clear is how to approach the subjective suffering that is symbolized with the symptom rather than consciously recognized. While there are overlapping comorbidities such as depression and anxiety that may be treated with medication, psychotherapy is the primary effective treatment for patients with adequate capacity to engage in the process.

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Background: It has been theorized that conversion disorder is the result of emotion that cannot be experienced consciously as feeling states or put into words (i.e., alexithymia), but there is little confirming empirical evidence.

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A national survey of candidates was conducted to identify motivations for pursuing psychoanalytic training, obstacles that prevent progression or completion, and candidates' ideas on how best to increase interest among potential trainees. In 2009-2010, 40 percent of candidates on the affiliate member e-mail list completed an anonymous web-based survey. Candidates strongly endorsed contact with a personal psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, or supervisor as the most important influence in discovering psychoanalysis and deciding to pursue training.

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To better focus efforts in recruiting psychoanalytic candidates, current candidates' demographics, practice patterns, and satisfaction with psychoanalytic training were investigated. An anonymous web-based survey was distributed by e-mail to all candidates subscribing to the affiliate member e-mail list in 2009-2010. Surveys were completed by 226 of 565 affiliate members, for a return rate of 40%.

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In the face of fewer psychiatrist applicants for psychoanalytic training, determining the interest of current psychiatric residents in psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychiatry is a pressing concern. To gauge this interest, an anonymous online survey was sent to residents from five psychiatry residency programs in the Midwest and South. Seventy-five residents responded, for a return rate of 42%.

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The use of medication further widens the scope for the psychoanalyst. The psychoanalyst attempting to combine disparate paradigms must balance maintenance of an analytic attitude with the activities necessary for appropriate diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric illness. Conflicting beliefs about the cause of symptoms, disdain for "quick fixes," lack of role models, and inexperience in using medication are among the issues that create obstacles for psychoanalysts attempting to achieve this balance.

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This article outlines the typical phases in the development and maintenance of healthy female sexual functioning, and highlights the problems related to sexual functioning that women may present in a primary care practice. The author discusses an approach to the sexual problems of women subjected to trauma and those with certain psychiatric illnesses, and the effect of psychotropic medications on sexual functioning.

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