Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Psychoanalysis for physician wellness

Francis Yoo, DO
Conditions
November 20, 2020
147 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

“Physician burnout” and “physician wellness” are now ubiquitous terms in the health care profession. For example, the ACGME’s common program requirements for residency now have an entire section dedicated to “well-being.” In addition to the numerous avenues currently available for physicians to improve their own wellness, I would also like to propose psychoanalysis as an option to consider by sharing my own journey as an analysand (person undergoing psychoanalysis) with a Jungian analytic psychoanalyst.

I have had serious conscious concerns about my identity, significance, and the meaning of my life since I was sixteen years old, and this propelled me to find answers by seeking knowledge that I could apply to my life journey. I came across the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and its parent psychological system, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, MD’s analytic psychology. I regularly returned to read works by Jung and even became an MBTI-certified practitioner by attending a training session during my third year of residency (a sincerely great use of my vacation time!). I applied concepts from analytic psychology to explore my inner life and the depths of my soul, and they were very beneficial for my well-being. However, it would be another five years before I seriously considered undergoing formal psychoanalysis myself.

Psychoanalysis has a reputation as a treatment modality for psychiatric pathology and afflictions of behavior with precarious symptomatology. This is probably due to the reductionist, disease-oriented philosophy of modern conventional medicine. Various schools of psychoanalysis emphasize finding the source of problems in the past of the analysand’s life. Jungian psychology can also be an avenue to address standard psychiatric conditions, but the ultimate focus of this approach is to provide guidance to the analysand to explore the interaction between their conscious and unconscious elements and to foster life-long psychological development and fulfillment for the sake of their wellness and wholeness.

During a pivotal time in my life when I was considering transitioning away from being employed full-time in corporate clinical medicine and moving towards private practice and non-clinical entrepreneurship, I started to pay more attention to myself and my wellness. One of the steps I took was to enlist the help of a local Jungian psychoanalyst.

My psychoanalyst sessions usually consisted of me relating recent happenings in my life, both external events and elements of my inner life such as thoughts, emotions, feelings, and dreams. She took notes whenever I talked about my dreams. She asked prompting questions to guide me with self-exploration and occasionally made interpretations of my dreams and actions to suggest what I should consider facing and doing. My regular 1-hour psychoanalysis sessions were both challenging and enlightening. For anyone who might be worried about whether or not such therapy might be covered by insurance, she did offer me a superbill with generic ICD-10 and CPT codes if I wanted to submit it to my insurance company for reimbursement, but I declined. I am still currently seeing her every one to two weeks as of the time of this writing.

My journey of wellness, wholeness, and personal development continues, and while I have been incorporating and integrating other modalities to address my self-care and wellness, attending Jungian psychoanalysis has become a key part of my journey to understand and manifest my identity, significance, meaning, and well-being as a physician. I recommend enlisting the help of a Jungian psychoanalyst for your own wellness, not to “cure burnout” but to learn more about yourself and express and manifest the wellness and wholeness innate to your life-long journey.

Francis Yoo is an integrative medicine physician and the author of Physician Freedom: Living Your Authentic Physician Life and COVID Contemplations for Self-Awareness and Personal Development. He can be reached at his self-titled site, Dr. Francis Yoo.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

End-of-life conversations: Why physicians should embrace the responsibility

November 20, 2020 Kevin 0
…
Next

Mental health care in children during COVID-19 [PODCAST]

November 20, 2020 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Psychiatry

Post navigation

< Previous Post
End-of-life conversations: Why physicians should embrace the responsibility
Next Post >
Mental health care in children during COVID-19 [PODCAST]

More by Francis Yoo, DO

  • A physician’s search for meaning

    Francis Yoo, DO
  • Personal development and growth during COVID times

    Francis Yoo, DO
  • Has your physician persona crowded out other aspects of yourself?

    Francis Yoo, DO

Related Posts

  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • How a physician keynote can highlight your conference

    Kevin Pho, MD
  • Wellness initiatives can start in the medical library

    Sheryl Ramer
  • Chasing numbers contributes to physician burnout

    DrizzleMD
  • The black physician’s burden

    Naomi Tweyo Nkinsi
  • Why this physician supports Medicare for all

    Thad Salmon, MD

More in Conditions

  • Why patients write: stress relief, self-care, and sharing experiences

    R. Lynn Barnett
  • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

    Angel Garcia Otano, MD
  • Family support is pivotal in the treatment of schizophrenia

    Frank Chen, MD
  • Exploring disfigurement and self-worth

    Kathleen Watt
  • Are we doing enough to help chronic pain sufferers?

    Adam Strohl, MD
  • Lessons taught by Bell’s palsy

    Alexander Rakowsky, MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Motorcycle helmet laws: Balancing freedom and financial impact

      Stephen Cohn, MD | Conditions
    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The link between orofacial myofunctional disorders and dental health

      Stephanie Jeret | Conditions
    • How compassionate leadership saved this physician [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Navigating the broken medical system: challenges faced by foreign medical graduates

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • The essence of medicine: genuine connections in practice

      Jennifer Tillman, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Why patients write: stress relief, self-care, and sharing experiences

      R. Lynn Barnett | Conditions
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
    • Bitcoin’s role in diversified portfolios [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Did Gabapentin Improve Post-COVID Olfaction?
  • Fentanyl Death Trends; Food Additives and Heart Disease
  • What If the Doctor Is Out?
  • Reduced Mortality Seen in Cancer Survivors Who Meet Exercise Guidelines
  • CDC Advisors Endorse Maternal RSV Vax to Protect Newborns

Meeting Coverage

  • Loneliness Needs to Be Treated Like Any Other Health Condition, Researcher Suggests
  • Stopping Medical Misinformation Requires Early Detection
  • AI Has an Image Problem in Healthcare, Expert Says
  • Want Better Health Outcomes? Check Out What Other Countries Do
  • ERS Roundup: Cell Transplant Boosts Lung Function in COPD Patients
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Motorcycle helmet laws: Balancing freedom and financial impact

      Stephen Cohn, MD | Conditions
    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The link between orofacial myofunctional disorders and dental health

      Stephanie Jeret | Conditions
    • How compassionate leadership saved this physician [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Navigating the broken medical system: challenges faced by foreign medical graduates

      Anonymous | Physician
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • The essence of medicine: genuine connections in practice

      Jennifer Tillman, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Balancing efficiency and compassion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Why patients write: stress relief, self-care, and sharing experiences

      R. Lynn Barnett | Conditions
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Misinformed claims and the offensiveness of discrediting COVID-19 vaccine development

      Angel Garcia Otano, MD | Conditions
    • Bitcoin’s role in diversified portfolios [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...