Barbara Schildkrout

Barbara Schildkrout is a physician/psychiatrist, teacher, and writer.

Her new book, Unmasking Psychological Symptoms, focuses on how medical diseases can masquerade as mental disorders. Unmasking Psychological Symptoms brings to life the practice of clinical thinking and problem solving from the point of view of a practicing therapist. The book is easy to read yet sophisticated in content. There is much to learn here–for students as well as for experienced clinicians, for patients as well as for their families.

For her teaching and writing, Dr. Schildkrout draws on decades of experience as a psycho-dynamically oriented psychiatrist, working with adults in individual or couples therapy. She is especially interested in integrating an understanding of the brain into conceptualizing psychotherapy. How do personal dynamics emerge from the interaction between neuropsychological make-up and experience? What capabilities do clinicians utilize when they engage in complex problem solving, including making a diagnosis?

Dr. Schildkrout is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.