ABSTRACT
Risk is difficult to assess. In practical management terms, a parolee with this intrapsychic catastrophe personality is unlikely to commit murder unless he/she finds himself/herself in a crisis to which he/she is especially vulnerable. Time spent in working through and, for the probation officer, containing such massive anxieties can be and often has been lifesaving. It may be asserted that probation officers are not trained to deal with complicated psychodynamic issues. The transference relationship from client to worker is thus crucial, and in a very complex way it is that relationship that enables the contemporaneous situation to be understood and any danger signs recognized. Also, as long as there is movement in the interpersonal situation between client and therapist, any acting out is likely to be a signal only, a plea for help rather than an escalating catastrophe.
