[BALINT GROUP AS A-MEANS FOR BURNOUT PREVENTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THERAPIST-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP IN A GENERAL HOSPITAL - THE SOROKA EXPERIENCE].

Balint group (BG) is an experiential discussion group which deals with the various aspects of the therapist-patient relationship. BG was found to be effective for stress and burnout prevention among medical professionals. Burnout is expressed by emotional fatigue, de-personalization and sense of failure.

Voluntary Departure of Family Physicians from their Workplace: A Reflective Outlook.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to highlight and assess the important topic of the voluntary departure of the physician from his/her clinic. We used the topic of the voluntary departure of a family physician from the clinic as an example. The physician's leaving challenges the personal credo regarding the continuity of care, which is a basic concept in Family Medicine, and other professions, too: Psychiatrists are also devoted to long-term doctor-patient care.

Burnout among general hospital mental health professionals and the salutogenic approach.

Professionals working in mental health often exhibit high levels of strain leading to poor psychological wellbeing, emotional exhaustion and depletion of personal resources. Even under tight global economic conditions preventing burnout should be given high priority among mental health providers. This paper looks at the wide spectrum of stressors found in specialists working in the mental health area and examines, with the salutogenic approach in the background, ways to relieve professional burnout among general hospital mental health providers.

Family physicians leaving their clinic--the Balint group as an opportunity to say good-bye.

The cornerstone of family medicine is the belief in both the continuity and availability of care. These beliefs are challenged when a doctor leaves his or her clinic because of personal reasons. In the example described in this article, the involvement of colleagues in a Balint group led a doctor to a flash insight into her conflicting feelings related to leaving her clinic.

Balint groups as 'shared care' in the area of mental health in primary medicine.

This paper describes how Balint groups can be effective for primary care doctors and how leaders of these groups can act as role models in the interdisciplinary, experiential learning experience. The paper describes the way Balint activity helps the facilitation of a dialogue between mental health professionals and primary care physicians. While these groups have been found to improve the sensitivity of doctors in their interaction with patients, Balint groups, with the joint leadership of professionals from different disciplines, can be seen as an effective method to improve primary care and mental health cooperation.