I. Facilitating Treatment of Hospitalized Patients Through Administrative Supervision of Psychoanalytic Interns: An interview with Michael Beck

On my recommendation, several years ago psychoanalytic students began serving internships in the state hospital unit of Central Islip where I am a treatment team leader. They have employed the updated psychoanalytic approach suggested for schizophrenic and other narcissistic disorders. This treatment utilizes transference as a primary tool. However, the transference relationship sought is a narcissistic one, constructed by means of various ego-insulating techniques. Resistances are supported until the patient feels it is safe to relinquish them. Communnication is relayed regularly via nonverbal and empathetic modes, and direct interpretation is discouraged.

We expect that interns using these methods could facilitate the treatment of hospitalized schizophrenics. Supervising these interns has been an interesting and gratifying aspect of my work, not least because of the therapeutic increment to many narcissistic patients who have been restored to human contact.

To date, about 25 interns have been supervised at Central Islip. Although some begin with just one patient, all of them eventually carry from three to six patients in modern psychoanalytic therapy. Thus over a hundred patients have been reported in supervision and administrative consultation.