みずからの病の名を知ること、つけること : 自己診断を手がかりに

Abstract

This study was performed to examine the way people suffering from illnesses ask for the name of their condition, by analyzing self-diagnoses and one case. When people concerned give a name to their illness, it leads either to relief of their pain, presents a new opportunity for coping with it, or causes additional distress, causing them to stop thinking and lose sight of themselves. In this case, the client diagnosed his illness as pervasive developmental disorder because he tried to explain his feeling of absence to himself and find his identity with the name. Moreover, through the name, he appealed to the therapist for approval. The client's confession of self-diagnosis to the therapist is an expression of the difficulties of living, considered as a negative self-introduction. It is often difficult to accept an illness and suffering even if it is given a name. Above all, it is important that a therapist has a receptive attitude toward a client's feeling of sorrow in the self-diagnosis.