You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Macbeth: Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased,
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,
Raze out the written troubles of the brain,
And with some sweet oblivious antidote
Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart?
Doctor: Therein the patient
Must minister to himself.
Macbeth: Throw physic to the dogs, I'll none of it.
Psychoanalysis is under assault by people who believe that the mind and the brain are equivalent, or even worse, that the mind is simply a cathode-ray tube for the brain. Extrapolating from the symptomatic relief afforded by tranquilizers and antidepressants, these people propose to save money by treating the brain and letting the mind fend for itself. Third-party payors, alert to the financial advantages of pharmacotherapy, are waging a war of attrition against psychoanalysts and psychotherapists.