Doing Balint
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Dont forget to refer to the resources in the right hand column which may help you.
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You are given permission to cut and paste anything out of Paddy McEvoy's book.
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Remember to see permision for any material that does not belong to you or Paddy. A permission request form can be found in the left hand column.
Pages: 20 sides of A4 (or less)
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Overall aim of this chapter: to give the reader (trainers and TPDs mainly) an idea of who Balint was and what he was thinking of (purpose of Balint; what it is particularly useful for). We also need to give them instruction on exactly how to do Balint - and the important nodal points.
- An brief history behind Balint
- Why do Balint, why not just support groups?
- Evidence behind Balint work
- Competencies demonstrated through Balint work
- Essential and desirable qualities for Balint groups
- Balint in GP training
- How does Balint work?
- Balint facilitator guidelines (esp mentioning that the period of silence after saying 'has anyone got a case' may feel a tad uncomfortable but is important to allow it to happen until someone comes up with a case)
- Balint facilitation - pitfalls, pratfalls and potholes
- The role of the co-facilitator
- How to use Balint not just for the dr-pt relationship but for other areas too. Be creative eg trainer-trainee relationship, gp partner - another partner relationship, relationship with other team members etc
- Some trainees don't like doing Balint: often because they see it as too woolly. Therefore, ensure they all have a good understanding right at the start about the purpose and objectives of Balint work - discuss benefits to 'hook' them in right at the start (otherwise they'll go home and see it as just a chit-chat)
- Troubleshooting Balint - common things that can go wrong - how to prevent and remedy them
- A Balint handout for the trainee
- Remember to seek permission from the British Balint Society for reproducing some of their excellent work
- Reference to The Balint Society