Psychocutaneous medicine. How to recognize and handle the hostile dermatologic patient and the contemptuous...

The dermatologist must distinguish between the hostile patient and the contemptuous patient for each must be handled very differently. The hostile patient needs empathy and the contemptuous patient needs direct , stern confrontation in order to sustain the doctor/patient relationship. If the dermatologist allows the contemptuous patient to use his disdain to discredit him, the patient loses, for he can no longer respect his doctor. The paper presented herein offers guidelines for the dermatologist in recognizing and handling both the hostile and contemptuous patient. The dermatologist must be able to recognize these differences in order to handle both types of patients knowledgeably.