Abstract
BackgroundPrevious research has indicated that aggressive behaviour and DSM-IV cluster B personality disorders (PD) may be associated with professionals' emotional reactions to clients, and that cluster C PD may be associated with positive emotional reactions.MethodsStaff members recruited from workshops completed a self-report inventory of emotional reactions to patients, the Feeling Word Checklist-58, and substance abusers completed a self-report of DSM-IV personality disorder, the DSM-IV and ICD-10 Personality Disorder Questionnaire. Correlational analysis and multiple regression analysis was used to assess the associations between personality disorders and emotional reations.ResultsCluster B disorder features were associated with feeling distance to patients, and cluster C disorder features were associated with feeling helpful towards patients. Cluster A disorders had no significant impact on emotional reactions.ConclusionThe findings confirm clinical experiences that personality disorder features in patients with substance abuse have an impact on staff members reactions to them. These reactions should be considered in supervision of staff, and in treatment models for patients with co-morbid personality disorders and substance abuse.
Highlights
Previous research has indicated that aggressive behaviour and DSM-IV cluster B personality disorders (PD) may be associated with professionals' emotional reactions to clients, and that cluster C PD may be associated with positive emotional reactions
Sattar and colleagues have pointed out that the term countertransference reaction refer to reactions that occur within the therapeutic alliance, but that many other factors outside the therapeutic alliance can influence staff members' emotional reactions [4]
Subjects were recruited through workshops where participants, addiction counsellors, social workers, nurses or psychologists, learned about personality disorders and the self-report instrument used in this study to assess personality disorder features, the DSM and ICD-10 Personality Questionnaire (DIP-Q)
Summary
Previous research has indicated that aggressive behaviour and DSM-IV cluster B personality disorders (PD) may be associated with professionals' emotional reactions to clients, and that cluster C PD may be associated with positive emotional reactions. The idea that professionals emotional reactions to patients are an important part of psychiatric treatment dates back to the work of Freud, who coined the term countertransference to describe such reactions. Freud observed that the patient's influence on the analyst's unconscious feelings could interfere with treatment. Later observations tend to support the view that emotional reactions are able, to interfere with treatment, and have diagnostic and therapeutic relevance and in many situations, even facilitate rather than interfere with treatment [e.g. Sattar and colleagues have pointed out that the term countertransference reaction refer to reactions that occur within the therapeutic alliance, but that many other factors outside the therapeutic alliance can influence staff members' emotional reactions [4]. In this article we use the term "emotional reactions to clients" to refer to all feelings that are evoked in professionals working with (page number not for citation purposes)
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