ABSTRACT
Jan Wiener focuses on the point that while assessors may have their own style and approach, the environment in which the assessment interview is carried out is likely to constellate unconscious personal and institutional shadow forces. These can subtly affect the assessor, the dynamic of the ‘meeting’ with the patient and the overall quality of the assessment. She uses the myth of Janus to illustrate the vicissitudes of the ‘gate-keeping’ process in four different assessment settings: a National Health Service psychotherapy clinic; in private practice; in a general medical practice; and in an analytic training organisation where patients are assessed for treatment with trainees.
