The Referring Therapist's Expectations of Inpatient Treatment: Some Atypical Variants

The authors examined, over a three month period, modes of referral for inpatient treatment to a general psychiatric institute. What became apparent were several unconscious or unexpressed motivators in the therapist's referral which were noted as “unusual” or “atypical”. These were identified and quantified into a list of atypical variations of the standard referral, which is presented, together with a description of each, and illustrative case material. The authors note there is a practical relevance to this, in that for each atypical variant there are pitfalls and potential for mismanagement, which if not recognized could well lead to a deleterious outcome for the patient and the therapists involved.