Class of 1970 Commemorative Biographical Book

A B B Y L . WA S S E R M A N

Continued

ran clinics in St. Louis which I was now in charge of. The contracts UBS/UHC were writing had the pediatricians responsible for all the behavioral healthcare of the children (ADD, depression, anxiety, etc.). Although I could have made exceptions and okayed child psychiatric input, I decided to hold true to the contracts with myself being an accessible consultant to the pediatricians. What happened next was just what I had expected—the pediatricians were up in arms with complaints to UBS/UHC and threats of leaving their network. UBH/UHC then changed the contracts allowing children to see child psychiatrists; and when they did that, all the other managed care companies followed suit. Have I changed since medical school? An interesting

question. While doing my child psychiatric training in Boston, I thought that I should be psychoanalyzed since most of the psychiatrists bragged about their analyses and what they found out through the process. I interviewed a noted analyst at Harvard who accepted me as a patient. When I told Dan, my husband, about my starting analysis, he said that he didn’t care if I went through with it, but I had to promise that I wouldn’t change one bit!! With that promise, I couldn’t see spending all that time and money, so I cancelled my appointment and have never been psychoanalyzed! Have I changed anyway---I hope that I am more considerate, caring, open minded, loving, pragmatic, knowledgeable and wiser. Is this not what aging is supposed to do? And I/we are certainly aging---50 years’ worth!!!

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