On (25 Oct 97) Alex Vasauskas wrote to Harriet Levy...
 AV> Harriet Levy wrote in a message to All:
 HL> endearing, I haven't been able to stop myself from loving her,
 HL> dearly.  My western trained mind tells me that I can't become
 HL> emotionally connected to my clients/ patients, and retain
 HL> professional detachment.
 AV> I assume that you have a question because you want to express your
 AV> feelings and open the possibility of more than a sympathetic
 AV> treatment-giver/treatment receiver relationship.
 The work I do is spiritual and energy based.  I've worked hard in my own
 life to remove the separation of mind and body and spirit...and the healing
 work that I do reflects that.  
 The dilemma, as I see it, is not the question of expressing my feelings,
 or opening the possibility of more of a relationship, but the conflict
 I feel in even "feeling" or thinking anything other than "this is a business 
 relationship".
 AV> Maybe the issue of professional detachment is related to
 AV> professional effectiveness.  It may become more difficult to do the
 AV> best thing for the client when you are deeply emotionally attached.
I'm not sure this is an issue with the work I do.  Also, I'm not sure that
it's not. 
 AV> There may be more benefits than detriments.  But, the problem is
 AV> being able to recognize what is going on when you are personally
 AV> involved.  You would do well to talk to other professionals
 AV> knowledgable in ethics in other health fields to at least become
 AV> aware of the concerns underlying personal involvement with clients.
 AV> It would be very helpful to read up on transference, and possibly
 AV> talk to a psychological counselor to explore the question of
 AV> transference in this relationship.
Thanks for that advice.  I've done a lot of studying about transference,
and had put myself into a "supervision" relationship with another healer,
as soon as I took this client on, to guard against that.
One of the things I'm questioning, however, is has the medical and health
care professions gone too far in the other direction?
... A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered desk drawer.
--- PPoint 2.00
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