[Ups and downs of chronicity: policies, institutions, mechanisms and therapists]

Chronicity is approached from several angles: that of the individual patient, the sociopolitical background, the therapist's role, the institutional framework for the treatment of chronic patients. Relevant themes are discussed and authors visited that contribute to fresh thinking regarding the position of the therapist (psychiatrist, psychologist, psychoanalyst) towards these patients. More often than not, these patients are classified as unclassifiable, or refractory. As it has been said before, this implies that from the professional's viewpoint these patients are intrinsically difficult and "little rewarding". This raises the question of health ideals and expectations, as well as the institutional inconveniences of current models of treatments and institutional devices.