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A Precedent for Modern Psychotherapeutic Techniques: One Thousand Years Ago

Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.128.12.1581

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.

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