Teaching psychiatry through literature : the short story as case history

The author proposes a simple systematic way to analyze short stories as if they were case histories. Class discussions are organized around five basic questions, stated in the article, and use Erikson's framework of life stages to translate life experiences into the language of psychic conflict. Fiction writers effectively dramatize psychological and developmental issues in a way that makes them real and memorable to psychiatric residents. Stories may be of particular value in illustrating the process of change and in exploring the topic of prognosis, which are often overlooked in more traditional teaching formats. The author has presented this approach at several recent meetings of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and workshop participants have reported success in its use, which depends on the teacher's clinical rather than literary skills.