tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-314660892011-04-21T18:21:01.808-07:00How does philosophy figure into my practice of psychiatry and psychoanalysis? An obvious philosophical dilemma is the so-called mind-body problem. "Is my experience mental or physical? Am I having psychological problems or a brain chemical imbalance?" Other postings may pertain to philosophy proper, which I have recenty been studying more formally, but would resemble nothing like a conversation in my office where I am interested discussing people's life story, not philosophy.Don De Francisco, MD, PhDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07054385982833730883noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31466089.post-1153508388254281952006-07-21T11:53:00.000-07:002006-07-21T11:59:48.266-07:00<table style="font-weight: bold;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="340"><tbody><tr><td class="header"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a target="_blank" class="" href="http://dondefrancisco.com/"><b>Return to www.dondefrancisco.com</b></a></span><br /><br /></span> How does philosophy figure into the practice of psychiatry and psychoanalysis? In a variety of ways. A practictioner's philosophy can affect the treatment received quite dramatically.<br /><br />As stated above, in psychiatry, the all too obvious philosophical dilemma is the so-called mind-body problem. It is often asked, "Is my experience (or problem, if you like) mental or physical? Am I having psychological problems or a brain chemical problem/imbalance?" The answer to this question is not easy, but we will try to address the form of what an answer might look like for an individual person.<br /><br />When this question comes up in the office, I often ask patients to reflect on the fact that every time we have a thought or a feeling something is going on in the brain. Even as we are communicating at the moment, something chemical or physical is also going on in our brains; the chemical changes are probably quite small ones and not susceptible to micro-modification. At least not yet, thankfully! But larger changes, more brain-global "chemical or neurological changes" such as significant and disabling moods, can possibly be modified. For the moment, let us put aside the important question and individual judgement of whether such problems should be addressed with medication.<br /><br />Some philosophers make a distinction between explanation and understanding, which I think is useful. Some mental experiences are better <b>explained</b> chemically or biologically, while other experiences are better <b>understood</b> psychologically through their meaningful connections to other psychological or social experiences. Most difficult of all (and my true "sub-specialty" in psychiatry) is that some mental and emotional experiences can definitely benefit from being looked at from both perspectives.<br /><br />Now, everything I've just said begs for endless elaboration and conversation. Feel free!<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a target="_blank" class="" href="http://dondefrancisco.com/"><b>Return to www.dondefrancisco.com</b></a></span></span></b><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/31466089-115350838825428195?l=dondefrancisco.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Don De Francisco, MD, PhDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07054385982833730883noreply@blogger.com0