Towards a family approach in a psychiatric day hospital

In a day hosptial all staff members must be able to make rapid decisions, even when they cannot refer to their seniors. It is difficult to develop this capability in a teaching day hospital where the staff and student groups are constantly changing. It has, however, been facilitated by regular staff discussions with a visiting psychotherapist. In these staff groups, the study of role attributions and dynamics characteristic of families has diminished the interference caused by 'family' type dynamics in daily professional interaction. The paper describes the effect of such discussion in stimulating the adoption of a treatment approach which takes the family situation into account. This family approach is distinguished from family therapy, and its advantages are discussed.