Impasses in the Relationship Between the Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner and the Consumer: A Psychodynamic Perspective

Psychiatric rehabilitation relationships can be undermined, which can potentially damage the recovery of consumers of mental health services who are coping with a prolonged serious mental illness. This might occur when practitioners who work to advance the complex rehabilitation process and need to function in diverse areas, fail to identify and respond to the unique needs involved. This might lead to a rupture in the practitioner–consumer relationship and to an impasse in the rehabilitation. In this article, an example clarifies how such an impasse can occur in a rehabilitation relationship and demonstrates the role of the practitioner in its resolution.