Psychological Interrelations between Physician and Patient*

It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the psychological interrelations between physician and patient. However, as the time is limited, I shall be unable to discuss every aspect of this relationship. I shall, therefore, restrict myself to selecting a few of the most important factors for my discussion.

Let me start with an example: A young man who was recovering from a serious but successful operation had been dismissed by his physician as well. However, the patient continued to feel ill and remained in a depressed state longer than is the rule after an operation. Now, it is a striking fact that many people convalescing from an operation are very depressed, whereas one might expect one who is recovering from illness to feel an increased joy in living and be euphoric. The following dream, related by the patient, may help us to understand this behavior:

The patient dreamed that he was sleeping in a room, that men were breaking into the room and attacking him; he felt great fear and awakened in a state of anxiety, bathed in perspiration, calling the name of his wife.

Psychoanalysis has shown that the dream has a very important function in mental life. It is impossible, in this paper, to go into the technique and theory of dream interpretation; I can only say, to this audience, that, according to our experience, every dream, with a few exceptions, expresses an unconscious wish. Our patient had