Psychogenic urinary retention

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Urology

Background:

• Psychogenic urinary retention is a poorly understood condition with physical symptoms and psychological factors.
• It predominantly affects young adult females, often presenting with placid, passive behavior, childhood enuresis, and disturbed backgrounds.
• Existing psychodynamic theories frequently link the symptom to displaced unacceptable sexual wishes.

Observation:

• Two cases of psychogenic urinary retention treated with analytical psychotherapy are presented.
• These patients exhibited a pronounced demand for physical punishment.
• This punitive demand was associated with unacceptable, unconscious sadistic and aggressive feelings.

Findings:

• The punitive demand in these cases was primarily linked to guilt over repressed aggressive drives, not sexual impulses.
• Aggression's role in the etiology of psychogenic urinary retention has been under-investigated.
• The findings suggest a potential link between repressed aggression and psychogenic urinary retention.

Implications:

• This study highlights the importance of considering repressed aggression in the psychodynamics of psychogenic urinary retention.
• Analytical psychotherapy may be effective in addressing underlying aggressive drives and guilt.
• Further research is warranted to explore the role of aggression in this condition.