Doctor's role

The doctor's role is one of a sympathetic and reliable listener.

There is a danger that the patient will become dependent on the doctor. The doctor should decide before therapy commences how long therapy should go on and how often with negotiation between the doctor and the patient. The active participation of the patient in the decision making concerning the duration of treatment means that the patient aware of the length of treatment and means that they are not shocked when treatment comes to an end.

In this form of therapy it is useful for the therapist to have a psychoanalytic understanding of the patient in order to maintain the therapeutic relationship, for example when the patient arouses feelings of frustration or hostility with the therapist. The therapist is unlikely to be exhausted by the patient or provoked to anger if he or she has a psychological understanding for the reasons for the patient's behaviour. Unlike analytic psychotherapy, this insight into the patient's psychological condition is not communicated.