narcosynthesis

n. a treatment technique that involves the administration of narcotic drugs to stimulate recall of emotional traumas, followed by “synthesis” of these experiences with the patient’s emotional life through therapeutic discussions in the waking state. [developed during World War II by U.S. psychiatrists Roy Richard Grinker (1901–1993) and John P. Spiegel (1911–1991)]

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Psychology term of the day

February 1st 2025

metapsychological profile

in psychoanalysis, a systematic profile of a patient’s intrapsychic functioning, in contrast to a mere list of symptoms; such a profile offers a picture of his or her entire personality. The technique was developed by Anna Freud in 1965.