Countertransference and Assisted Suicide (IN: Countertransference Issues in Psychiatric Treatment, edited by G O Gabbard)

In this chapter, the authors discuss evidence emerging from a range of research in clinical populations concerning terminally ill patients, end-of-life, & other treatment decisions by medically ill patients, & the impact of care of the dying patient on the treating doctor. The research provides an empirical basis for the discussion that follows, addressing the broader psychodynamic issues, including the role of countertransference & projective identification, in order to highlight important clinical factors that have been relatively neglected to date in this area. (79 refs.)