title: Treating the patient who "can't" versus treating the patient who "won't".
abstract: Patients who can't do what they need to do should be treated differently than those who won't take responsibility for themselves. Mistakenly treating one as the other leads to a confusing sense of failure or may foster regression, and the clinical disagreement between colleagues readily takes on a characteristic moral tone.
mesh_terms: D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008884:Milieu Therapy; D009042:Motivation; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012043:Regression, Psychology; D014836:Volition