[How can a doctor meet an anxious patient?]

A doctor can meet an anxious patient and handle her/his own reactions emerging in the therapeutic relationship. It is especially necessary to focus attention on the phenomena of the therapeutic relationship if the problems are prolonged and the patient and the doctor feel burdened. Mindfulness refers to conscious directing of alertness to the present, and to the approval and permissive perception of both extrinsic and intrinsic events (e.g. thoughts and feelings). The therapeutic relationships of a doctor may be affected by the doctor's presence and willingness to encounter her/his own reactions.