ABSTRACT
The 'hoarding habit' is the practice of collecting a large number of mostly useless objects by psychiatric patients. Countertransference consists of distorted perceptions by psychotherapists in their study of individuals, or social scientists in their study of human groups, which interfere with the pursuit of their therapeutic or research goals. A case is here presented from observations made by the author in one pavilion of the Hospital Victor Larco Herrera in Lima, Peru, of a 'bag man' who persisted in carrying his 'hoard' with him in large market bags. The practice of hoarding is related to the culture and social structure of the hospital, patients' use of physical space, the existence of trade networks, the smuggling of alcohol, and patients' needs to retain a feeling of selfness and personal autonomy as well as to maintain ties with the external world. In all these senses the hoarding habit is overdetermined: it is both a symptom of pathology and a sign of healthy functioning. However, its clinical construction may be expanded by an observer who can function as a 'culture broker' and who may be able to apply the dialectic of pathology and health to the operation of psychiatric services for more therapeutic ends. However, the observer, in a consultation capacity, is advised to go beyond the study of transference and countertransference in his or her subjects to focus on his/her own countertransference in order to consult more effectively.
Subject(s)
Behavior , Countertransference , Mental Disorders/psychology , Anthropology, Cultural , Hospitals, Psychiatric , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , PeruABSTRACT
PIP: The efficiency of ultrasonic examination in the diagnosis of early abortion was studied in 139 patients with threatened or beginning abortion (based on clinical signs) and in 23 women at high risk of abortion. Normal values were based on findings in a group of 134 women with definitely dated, normally progressing pregnancies. Repeated examinations were necessary in many cases. There was an average lapse of 4.8 days between definite ultrasonic diagnosis and definite diagnosis by other means (urinary human chorionic gonadotropin, clinical findings).^ieng