Consultation--liaison psychiatry activities in a renal transplant unit

We describe the consultation--liaison psychiatry activites in the renal transplant unit at Hannover Medical School. The activities with regard to patients' care include: the group session, with particular regard to dealing with the patients' denial; the indirect and direct psychotherapeutic interventions, the latter concerning psychotherapeutic consultation and counselling ('supportive psychotherapy'); and dealing with live donors and potential renal transplant patients. The second consultation--liaison psychiatry activity includes the teaching procedures: firstly, Balint-group-work with the nurses, secondly, the nurses' presence in the group sessions, and finally, Balint-group-work with students working as auxiliary therapists. In the authors' view, the field of surgery can represent a very promising one with regard to consultation--liaison psychiatry.