Seminars help doctor focus on patient

One of the interesting applications of psychological principles to the practice of medicine is a technique called Baliant seminars.

These group discussions are designed to assist physicians in understanding the doctor/patient relationship. The discussions also help physicians learn to communicate more skillfully with their patients.

Michael Baliant was a Hungarian/British psychoanalyst who maintained a lifelong interest in the application of psychological principles to the practice of medicine. In his book, The Doctor, His Patient, and the Illness, Baliant discussed various techniques of principles he and his wife, Enid, had developed in their group work with general practitioners.

Specific goals of Baliant training are concerned more with attitudes and skills in treating the patient rather than in basic knowledge.

In the Baliant seminar, the health care professionals often discuss some of the following:

• The doctor as the “drug.” This involves recognizing that the influence of the doctor on the patient is often the most powerful component of the patient’s treatment.

• An understanding of the medical encounter and its dynamics. This explores the early parts of the relationship between doctor and patient. The focus is on helping the doctor understand the patient’s requests and establishing a diagnosis.

• Helping the physician keep the focus on listening and viewing the patient as a total entity rather than as an individual with isolated systems and parts. The physician is trained to be aware of both the psychological and physical symptoms presented by the patient.

During the Baliant seminar the physicians present cases to other members of the group, focusing on feelings and interpersonal interactions rather than on strictly medical issues. They use their own awareness and insight of their feelings in order to help them understand more about the physician/patient interaction.

As a result of the Baliant seminars, physicians are, hopefully, better able to:

Deal more effectively with different patients.
Become more aware of their own responses to the behaviors and problems that the patient presents and minimize the effect of these responses on the patient’s treatment.
Learn additional styles of dealing with the patient, as well as ways of looking at the patient’s problem as a result of interaction, with other Baliant seminar members.

The understanding and improvement of the physician/patient relationship is important in the practice of medicine. Baliant seminars are one method of approaching the need.

Copyright c 1998 Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D.