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The work of Balint revisited

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Paul S McDonald
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice, Medical School, Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, England
Tom C O'Dowd
Affiliation:
Department of General Practice, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
Penny Standen
Affiliation:
Department of Learning Disabilities, Medical School, Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham, NG7 2UH, England

Extract

This paper summarises the work of Michael Balint, offers a revisionist view of his work, and argues that the new term heartsink is an indication that the problems Balint addressed need to be re-examined.

The richness of Michael Balint's life was documented by Hopkins. The variety of his professional experiences meant that he was able to create a fertile atmosphere in which GPs felt free to express feelings about themselves and their patients. The Balint movement was based upon the talents of an exceptional man.

Type
Historical
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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