ABSTRACT
The Portman Clinic is a large Victorian house in Swiss Cottage, North London; it is indistinguishable externally from the neighbouring residential properties, most of which have been divided into flats for the prosperous middle class. The only identifier is a small sign by the front door. It has a large, well-kept garden with shrubs and fruit trees. An admiring comment on the garden is often a patient’s opening remark. The hallway has the original tiles; leading off it and within sight of the receptionist are the patients’ toilets, men and women. A small sign marks the reception and the waiting-room. A glass partition separates the receptionist from the patients in the waiting-room. Patients are called for their appointments as “Dr Jones’ patient” or “Mrs Smith’s group”. Anonymity can thus be preserved. Stairs lead to the consulting-rooms, each bearing the marks of its occupant—a few pictures, pot plants, and professional books—but less intimate than the average private analytic consulting-room. A couch, a desk, and a few easy chairs positioned so the patient can escape. Some of the rooms are large enough for groups.
