The use of medication in the context of psychoanalysis seems to these authors an aspect of the movement of psychoanalytic practice toward a "more flexible psychoanalytic therapy." Besides various cultural, historical, and economic factors responsible for this trend, mention is made of ethical and legal factors: for example, the recent malpractice suit against a private psychiatric hospital for not treating a patient's depression with antidepressant medication. Serious dilemmas arise when medication might be effective in alleviating certain symptoms, but might undermine the analytic work that would be of potentially greater ultimate benefit to the patient. Yet, judicious use of medication may make analytic work possible for certain patients who might not otherwise be able to benefit from it. Transference and countertransference implications of the use of medications should be expected and should be at least potentially analyzable.