ABSTRACT
This chapter will describe three of our cases in which evidence emerged of the importance of the doctor’s personal experience in creating and shaping defences against emotional engagement with the patient. In the first case the group’s shared realisation of the personal factor remained unspoken. In the second, the group had its first open disclosure of some personal history which the presenting doctor discovered during the discussion. In the third case, the doctor was able to deepen his understanding of his defences as a result of later reflection on his own.
