THE CASE-CONFERENCE AS AN INTEGRATIVE MOMENT IN DIAGNOSTICS AND PSYCHOTHERAPY

In the Dynamic Psychiatric Hospital Menterschwaige, the case-conferenc e is the central tool for diagnosis and therapy planning. It takes pla ce for each patient at least once during the inpatient treatment. The aims of the case-conference are the integration of all diagnostic and therapeutic findings about the patient, to access not only the patient 's symptomatology and pathology, but also his healthy functioning with his creative and constructive parts of the personality, to differenti ate, or if necessary to change the diagnosis, to reflect the therapeut ic process of the patient, to plan a more differentiated treatment pro gram, and to discuss perspectives for the patient's future. Of special importance is the active involvement of the patient into all diagnost ic procedures and into the case-conference. To be confronted with the own life history, behaviors, abilities and difficulties means for the patient that the case-conference has also a therapeutic function. The procedure of a case-conference will be discribed by the authors.