ABSTRACT
The work we do as psychotherapists and psychoanalysts is very difficult. Amy Morrison, an analytically oriented social worker wrote two moving papers about disclosure and practicing psychotherapy with a life-threatening illness. Again, it is possible that the choice of long-term work, so multi-determined by our psychological histories, may also relate to its focus on life, and not the inevitability of death. It is clear for therapists as well as for patients that death, illness, and mortality are very hard to discuss and hold in one’s mind without a great deal of anxiety. The focus upon living a fuller life, with less anxiety, depression, and conflict can be present for older or younger patients. Our work in therapy or analysis is usually about living a fuller life. Morrison heard from a patient that her couples therapist advised her to terminate the individual therapy because of her illness.
