'In a case of acute intermittent porphyria complicated by severe diarrhea, intensive psychotherapy with primary focus on the patient's hostile dependency produced the following results: 1, it enabled the patient to surrender secondary gains of her illness; 2, it appears to have been instrumental in controlling the patient's diarrhea; 3, it may have played a part in the frequency of acute episodes. An apparent relationship between coproporphyrin output in the urine and emotional strain was noted. In retrospect it is difficult to assess the relative significance of various factors contributing to her initial attack of acute porphyria. The ingestion of barbiturates, severe emotional tension, and constitutional susceptibility all may have been factors.'