Metamorphosis

It is little wonder that the ancient Greeks used the same word for butterfly and for soul (ψυχή = psyche), or that our specialty adopted this name. In child and adolescent psychiatry we know well the powerful feeling of seeing a young person truly get their wings. Bursting from that which may have nurtured and encumbered, the chrysalis of unfortunate circumstance or psychiatric disorder, we feel a thrill when our patients fly free. In our field we also know what it is to get “psyched” by something that we read. Reading a great book opens up possibility. Turning that last page holds promise that in clinical encounters to come, we may adopt a new way of listening, be more fluid and facile, with fresh therapeutic tools.