ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the patient’s experience in the dynamics of the doctor-patient relationship. The foundation of healthcare is the therapeutic alliance, whereby patient and doctor come together with their expectations and try to establish rapport which supports the treatment. Some of the expectations are determined by realistic perceptions, and some are associated and affected by our past, anxiety, and neediness. The situation of neediness and dependence on the doctor together with the therapeutic setting, where patients are seen frequently, makes this complex relationship of doctor and patient saturated with intense feelings, fears, vulnerability, expectations, and hopes. When doctor and patient meet, they both bring their biographies to the relationship. The chapter looks at the asymmetrical nature of the doctor-patient relationship and its influence on transference dynamics.
