Psychoanalytic understanding and treatment of the very rich. 1991

S L Warner
Philadelphia Academy of Psychoanalysis.

Because personal affluence and an alloplastic adjustment tend to go together, psychiatric treatment encounters special problems in trying to help the very rich. These patients frequently show a strong sense of entitlement and a denial of any psychological problem. This creates special treatment problems. They feel entitled to the "very best," which includes the "best doctor." If their psychological problems cannot be magically erased they will switch psychiatrists until they find the "right one." Part of this is a tendency to externalize their emotional problems. Problems are thought to be caused by the environment and not by intra-psychic conflicts. This encourages the therapist to make environmental changes to improve the psychological state. Other special problems that the very rich present include the V.I.P. syndrome, excessive concern with litigation, their excessive narcissim, and their original emotional neglect by their own parents. Many were raised by parent surrogates and have problems in self-esteem. All of these special problems make the very rich difficult to treat with psychodynamically oriented psychotherapy or psychoanalysis. There are some exceptions to this problematic picture in which psychiatric treatment of the very rich can work out very nicely for both patient and psychotherapist.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007182 Income Revenues or receipts accruing from business enterprise, labor, or invested capital. Income Distribution,Income Generation Programs,Savings,Distribution, Income,Distributions, Income,Income Distributions,Income Generation Program,Incomes,Program, Income Generation,Programs, Income Generation
D008297 Male Males
D010817 Physician-Patient Relations The interactions between physician and patient. Doctor-Patient Relations,Doctor Patient Relations,Physician Patient Relations,Physician Patient Relationship,Doctor Patient Relation,Doctor-Patient Relation,Physician Patient Relation,Physician Patient Relationships,Physician-Patient Relation,Relation, Doctor Patient,Relation, Doctor-Patient,Relation, Physician Patient,Relation, Physician-Patient,Relations, Doctor Patient,Relations, Doctor-Patient,Relations, Physician Patient,Relations, Physician-Patient,Relationship, Physician Patient,Relationships, Physician Patient
D011575 Psychoanalytic Therapy A form of psychiatric treatment, based on Freudian principles, which seeks to eliminate or diminish the undesirable effects of unconscious conflicts by making the patient aware of their existence, origin, and inappropriate expression in current emotions and behavior. Balint Psychoanalytic Therapy,Psychoanalytic Therapy, Balint,Psychoanalytical Therapy,Therapy, Balint Psychoanalytic,Therapy, Psychoanalytic,Psychoanalytic Therapies,Psychoanalytical Therapies,Therapies, Psychoanalytic,Therapies, Psychoanalytical,Therapy, Psychoanalytical
D003717 Denial, Psychological Refusal to admit the truth or reality of a situation or experience. Denial, Psychology,Psychological Denial
D005260 Female Females
D005555 Forensic Psychiatry Psychiatry in its legal aspects. This includes criminology, penology, commitment of mentally ill, the psychiatrist's role in compensation cases, the problems of releasing information to the court, and of expert testimony. Jurisprudence, Psychiatric,Psychiatric Jurisprudence,Psychiatry, Forensic
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001523 Mental Disorders Psychiatric illness or diseases manifested by breakdowns in the adaptational process expressed primarily as abnormalities of thought, feeling, and behavior producing either distress or impairment of function. Mental Illness,Psychiatric Diseases,Psychiatric Disorders,Psychiatric Illness,Behavior Disorders,Diagnosis, Psychiatric,Mental Disorders, Severe,Psychiatric Diagnosis,Illness, Mental,Mental Disorder,Mental Disorder, Severe,Mental Illnesses,Psychiatric Disease,Psychiatric Disorder,Psychiatric Illnesses,Severe Mental Disorder,Severe Mental Disorders
D012923 Social Class A stratum of people with similar position and prestige; includes social stratification. Social class is measured by criteria such as education, occupation, and income. Caste,Social Gradients,Socioeconomic Level,Socioeconomic Status,Middle Class Population,Castes,Class, Social,Gradient, Social,Level, Socioeconomic,Middle Class Populations,Population, Middle Class,Social Classes,Social Gradient,Socioeconomic Levels,Status, Socioeconomic

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