PROBLEMS FOR MEDICAL PRACTICE PRESENTED BY FAMILIES WITH A SCHIZOPHRENIC MEMBER
Abstract
Medical practice with 7 families with a schizophrenic son or daughter regularly encountered difficulties in accomplishing medical evaluations and treatment. The use of medical services by the parents and the son or daughter was extensively involved in intense emotional processes. Two modes of relating are described as an acting out of feelings of helplessness and an acting out of a denial of these feelings. A variation is described in which the acting out of feelings of helplessness took the form of a concern about another.
The emotional pressures tended to lead to inaccurate medical overdiagnosis and overtreatment in response to the acted out feelings of helplessness and to inaccurate medical estimates of good health in response to the acted out denial pattern. When medical findings differed from the emotional view, the clinical relationship could reach a difficult point. The problems in the medical experiences appeared to be one clear evidence of general processes pervading the family emotional life.
Access content
To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access.- Personal login
- Institutional Login
- Sign in via OpenAthens
- Register for access
-
Please login/register if you wish to pair your device and check access availability.
Not a subscriber?
PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5 library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.
Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).
