Staff Responses To Patients With a Primary Disturbance of the Self

Abstract

This paper examines response patterns of the staff of a District General Hospital Psychiatric Unit to patients whose nuclear self is vulnerable and fragmented and at certain stage need admission into the Day Hospital or In-Patient area. These patients are potentially amenable to psychotherapy provided that some conditions are met. They present special problems in relation to transference and counter transference. The exposure of the therapist to emotional forces engendered by these patients among the staff is considered. The interference with the therapist's countertransference by responses of other staff members is described as "cross-countertransference".