Reflective Practice

doi:10.1017/9781108689229.009

Chapter 7 - Reflective Practice

from Section 1 - Practice and Principles

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 August 2026

Keith Gallagher and

John D. Cahill

Edited by

John D. Cahill and

Keith Gallagher

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John D. Cahill: Affiliation:
Yale School of Medicine, Connecticut
Keith Gallagher: Affiliation:
Yale University

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Summary

In this chapter, we will discuss the importance of routinely reflecting upon yourself as both a person and a prescriber. Identifying the types of situations that tend to make you feel most affiliative with your patients, as well as those which make you feel less attuned or empathic, can be helpful in identifying your own strengths and vulnerabilities. In this chapter, we discuss the importance of acknowledging our own subjectivity in the prescribing relationship, some common triggers of prescriber vulnerabilities, and provide some examples of situations where reflective practice is crucial.

Keywords

self-reflection in prescribing countertransference bias

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: Prescribing Psychiatric Medications
The How, Why, and Why Not
, pp. 83 - 89

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108689229.009 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2026

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References

Vernon, J. Why psychotherapy training shouldn’t be part of psychiatry residency [Internet]. Available from: https://opmed.doximity.com/articles/why-psychotherapy-training-should-not-be-part-of-psychiatry-residency-25ae32bb45ab Google Scholar

Wienke Totura, CM, Fields, SA, Karver, MS. The role of the therapeutic relationship in psychopharmacological treatment outcomes: A meta-analytic review. Psychiatr Serv. 2018;69(1):41–7.Google Scholar

Heimann, P. On countertransference. Int J Psychoanal. 1950;(31):81–4.Google Scholar

Money-Kyrle, R. Normal counter-transference and some of its deviations. Int J Psychoanal. 1956;37:360–5.Google Scholar PubMed

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