TRANSFERENCE IN GENERAL PRACTICE AND FAMILY MEDICINE CONSULTATION

Introduction: Transference, which can be defined as the attribution of our own emotions and feelings to someone else, is very common in Psychiatry and can be used as a therapeutic tool. In General Practice and Family Medicine is less recognized, but can have an equally important role, with a positive or negative impact in the help and doctor / patient relationship. This case report intends to reflect about this phenomenon and its negative implications in daily clinical practice. Methods: Data collection of patient clinical process and literature review. Results: Women, 27 years, with a history of anxiety disorder with worsening in the beginning of 2015. In the context of great emotional instability, the family doctor started a therapeutic counselling, while waiting for psychiatry and psychology consultation. The patient began to attend to the Health Unit 2-3 times a week, with non-urgent unspecific symptoms, and tried to establish a personal relationship with the family doctor asking insistently to be observed by the same health professional. The attempts of clarification about the role of family doctor and about the patient’s behaviour and expectations have proved to be unsuccessful, leading to the end of the doctor/patient relationship, successive complaints and loss of quality of life of both. Conclusion: Transference is a common phenomenon in the doctor/patient relationship. The awareness and clarification of both, doctor and patient, of the respective roles can be crucial to prevent disruption of the relationship and the associated discomfort.