ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author examines the significance for her patients and herself of the impact of her new disability, and will hopefully stimulate others into further thought about the impact of physical differences, temporary and permanent, in the consulting room. There has been a surprising dearth of reaction to my disability from her able-bodied patients, although where there has been a reaction it has been swift and powerful. The author argues that becoming crutch-bound as a result of a surgical intervention provided a powerful metaphor for the psychotherapeutic process. In psychotherapy, patients commonly report feeling worse before they feel better and it is useful to think in terms of time for rehabilitation, and the need to be patient while the healing process takes its course. The author shows that reactions ranged from feelings of terror, rage and anxieties about, and hope for, survival, to thoughts about rehabilitation.
