title: Neutrality or negligence: interpret or act?
abstract: The uniqueness of the psychotherapeutic relationship requires the therapists to maintain a careful equilibrium between objectivity at the price of empathy and closeness at the expense of the necessary perspective. Crises in the course of long-term psychotherapy brings about a sudden, unexpected loss of such equilibrium. Uithout sufficient understanding of the crisis within the context of the therapeutic strategy and goals, the therapist might easily over- or underreact, to the detriment of the treatment. In this paper we suggest careful scrutiny and guidelines for dealing with those situations.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003379:Countertransference; D003419:Crisis Intervention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*