The Reference Case in need of Intervention to Mother-Daughter Relationships

Abstract

　　The public counseling agency in the neighborhood community has two expected roles: not only to give counseling sessions to clients but also to refer them to relevant medical agencies. Concerning the referral, many researchers have studied the definition of referral and essential points that we should attend to when we refer. There are few researches, however, which focus on the referral itself and the process of referral from a therapeutic viewpoint.

　　Now I would like to discuss the process of referral through the so-called doctor-shopping case. Recently, I had a mother-daughter case who came to our agency asking, "We want you to refer us to the agencies for psychotherapy." They had visited 9 medical agencies in 4 years. I have gradually noticed through several counseling sessions that they enjoyed "the game" of visiting many medical agencies not for medication but for gaining attention. The daughter was a 21-year-old who had a borderline personality disorder. Their purpose in life seemed to look for medical agencies which does not prescribe any medication. It struck me that mother and daughter had a different idea of the problem and how to approach it. Therefore, I pointed out to them their deference concerning medical agencies, their images of therapeutic approach and their motivations for stopping "the game". Finally, I was able to make them agree about their intentions, and also help the daughter to be more compliant about taking the medication.