Læknablaðið - 01.06.1961, Side 49

LÆKNABLAÐIÐ
77
poor woman finallv acceded. I
still had the notes of my work
with Clara. They were quite
detailed. I reread them hefore
I saw her. Clara’s recollection
of wliat had gone on in 1931
and 1932, of people, of the feel-
ing tone of people and of her
experiences was amazing. She,
was still diagnostically a hehe-
phrenic praecox hut intellectual
and emotional deterioration I
could see none. Clara over the
years had become hypertensive.
Tliis was indeed a revealing ex-
perience. I wondered often
since, how come no deteriora-
tion in the face of such a malig-
nant mental process since the
age of 19? Here she was now
39 with little change in the clin-
ical picture. Somewhere in
Clara was a tenacity for exist-
ing if not living that would not
let her go under.
With the limited knowledge
I liad in 1932 I certainly could
not have prognosticated what
I saw in 1944, and I doubt if
I could now. At least I would
he a lot more cautious in my
prognosis. With some of the
knowledge I am presenting to
you, I saw a woman in con-
sultation eleven 3'ears ago. I
felt dubious ahout the prog-
nosis. I am happy to sajr she
returned a year later to contra-
dict my original impression.
In my first consultation witli
this 48 year old married woman,
she insistently and almost des-
perately kept asking, „I couldn’t
be that kind of a person, could
I?“ meaning so low, so degrad-
ed. This was her response to a
sexual interpretation of a dream
her therapist had made some
months before. She had about
her the atmosj)here of a malign-
antly ill and deteriorating pati-
ent on the chronic ward of a
mental hospital. Severe finan-
cial reverses, the nursing of a
schizojihrenic sister off and on
for the past ten years, and a
severe puritanical upbringing
were in the picture. My help
consisted in listening, showing
a detailed interest in her history,
and my assurance that she had
gone through some trying times.
I did not interpret tlie dream
to which she was referring but
said it could be interpreted in
quite otlier ways. Here I was not
impressed hjr assets. I hoped I
had been slightly helpful. I was
surprised at wliat I saw on a
second consultation one jrear
later, when she visited New
York. The atmosphere of mal-
ignant illness was gone. She was
more alive and open, liad an
expression of happiness on her
face, and was very appreciative
of the lielp I liad given her.
Just what the help was that she
was referring to was not clear
to me nor did she describe what
she meant. External circum-
stances had obviously contri-