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Cusimano Thesis Final.pdf (578.35 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

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Reading the Patient's Mind: Irvin Yalom and Narrative in Psychiatry

Cusimano, Samuel
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1660922396326015

Abstract Details

2022, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Medical Humanities and Social Sciences.
In this thesis, I use a close reading of two memoirs by existential psychiatrist Irvin Yalom to develop a narrative approach to psychiatry. This approach treats each patient’s story as a unique work of literature. It involves the psychiatrist’s listening for literary elements such as tone, incongruity, and figurative speech in patient stories. It also requires the psychiatrist’s engagement in cooperative acts of storytelling and interpretation, which, I suggest, provide insight into the patient’s inner and outer life. This insight helps the psychiatrist to understand the patient’s needs, whether these needs are psychosocial, neurobiological, medical, or otherwise. Ultimately, I argue that this approach prepares psychiatrists to respond creatively to the complex challenges of mental illness.
Aaron Friedberg (Committee Co-Chair)
James Phelan (Committee Chair)
73 p.
Literature; Medicine; Mental Health; Psychotherapy
narrative psychiatry; narrative; psychiatry; psychotherapy; medicine; narrative medicine; stories; storytelling; mental health; psychosocial; literature; literary theory; Yalom; Phelan; reading; interpretation; dream interpretation; psychopathology; justice; critical psychiatry; creative; creativity; writing; reading; close reading

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Cusimano, S. (2022). Reading the Patient's Mind: Irvin Yalom and Narrative in Psychiatry [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1660922396326015

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Cusimano, Samuel. Reading the Patient's Mind: Irvin Yalom and Narrative in Psychiatry. 2022. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1660922396326015.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Cusimano, Samuel. "Reading the Patient's Mind: Irvin Yalom and Narrative in Psychiatry." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1660922396326015

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1660922396326015
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