A Precedent for Modern Psychotherapeutic Techniques: One Thousand Years Ago
MOHAMMAD SHAFII M.D.1
1 Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Children's Psychiatric Hospital, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48104
The author cites a 1,000-year-old case history of a young prince who manifested symptoms of psychotic depression associated with anorexia nervosa. The treatment of this patient by Avicenna, a Persian physician, set a precedent for some psychotherapeutic techniques currently in use. These include: communicating with the patient within his delusional system, creating an effective therapeutic milieu, and applying consultation techniques of community psychiatry.
