ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book deals with Anna Freud’s vision of publicly funded treatment for the minds of all who needed it, both rich and poor. It shows that attention has to be paid to the staff, not just outside the workplace, but also within it. As A. Cooper and J. Lousada remind us, “For mental health clinicians the work, if done well, disturbs the practitioner”. They note the unconscious wish in us all to turn away from psychological experiences that are difficult and unsettling. Mental health workers aim to relieve the suffering of their patients and to help them to develop better ways of relating, to themselves and to others. The book also shows that some of the ways in which psychoanalysis has applied itself, creatively, to the challenge. Establishing the level of understanding is hard, emotionally, but it can also be rewarding.
