Pankow dedicated her life to challenging Freud's assertion regarding the impracticality of psychoanalytic treatment for psychoses.
Remaining within the framework of Freudian metapsychology, she innovatively addressed certain technical aspects, such as incorporating clay modeling into sessions.
Pankow formulated an approach within the realm of psychosis that alleviates the challenges faced by psychotic individuals in articulating their worldview.
[citation needed] She began clinical and theoretical research in psychosis in the 1950s.
[citation needed] Pankow died on August 14, 1998 at the age of 84 in Berlin.