The Balint Society, founded in the UK in 1969, is a supportive and collaborative
medical
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...
organization
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived from ...
of clinicians and teachers who emphasize the importance of the use of emotion and personal understanding in the doctor's work and the therapeutic potential of the
doctor-patient relationship. The society was created to continue the efforts of
Enid and
Michael Balint ,
, image = Monte Verità Gedenktafel Michael Balint 1K4A4638-b.jpg
, caption =
, birth_name = Mihály Maurice Bergsmann
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Budapest
, death_date =
, death_place = London
, occupation = psychoan ...
, who set up a school in the 1950s to educate other doctors about the patient-doctor relationship.
The society's international affiliates are registered with the International Balint Federation.
[Balint Society Affiliation](_blank)
, accessed July 2, 2006
Balint groups
A Balint group is a group of clinicians who meet regularly and present cases to each other to discuss.
"What is a Balint Group?"
, The American Balint Society The aim is a group process of exploration and for the medical participants to transform uncertainty and difficulty in the doctor-patient relationship into a greater understanding and meaning that nurtures a more therapeutic alliance between clinician and patient.
, accessed July 2, 2006
, accessed July 2, 2006
See also
* Compassion fatigue
Compassion fatigue is a condition characterized by emotional and physical exhaustion leading to a diminished ability to empathize or feel compassion for others, often described as the negative cost of caring. It is sometimes referred to as seconda ...
* Burnout (psychology)
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), occupational burnout is a syndrome resulting from chronic work-related stress, with symptoms characterized by "feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s ...
* Enid Balint
Enid Balint or Enid Flora Balint-Edmonds (1 December 1903 – 19 July 1994) was a British psychoanalyst and welfare worker.
Life
Enid Flora Albu was born on 1 December 1903 in London. Her early education was at Hampstead High School and Chelte ...
* Michael Balint ,
, image = Monte Verità Gedenktafel Michael Balint 1K4A4638-b.jpg
, caption =
, birth_name = Mihály Maurice Bergsmann
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Budapest
, death_date =
, death_place = London
, occupation = psychoan ...
References
External links
UK site American Balint SocietyBalint International
Medical and health organisations based in the United Kingdom
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