HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH British Journal of Psychiatry Psychiatric Bulletin All RCPsych Journals		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

Electronic Letters to:

Articles: Leonard Fagin Repeated self-injury: perspectives from general psychiatry Adv Psychiatr Treat 2006; 12: 193-201 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

eLetters: Submit a response to this article

Electronic letters published:

Adopting a non-judgemental attitude

Dr Md Ali Jahan   (22 June 2006)

On being non-judgemental

Ovais Wadoo, Aadil Jan Shah (Gwent NHS trust)   (17 October 2006)

Adopting a non-judgemental attitude 22 June 2006
Dr Md Ali Jahan, SHO, Psychiatry South Devon Rotational Training Sceme, Devon Send letter to journal: Re: Adopting a non-judgemental attitude alijahanbd{at}yahoo.com Dr Md Ali Jahan	My thanks must go to Dr Leonard Fagin for his excellent article on "Repeated self-injury". I have read many times in relation to managing a self harming patient who is presenting very frequently to the ward or A&E - please be non-judgemental. But, are we really non-judgemental when seeing people who self harm especially with borderline personality or alcohol misue problems? How can we be non-judgemtnal when dealing with such complex and difficult patients? In many junior doctors' rooms, I have seen advanced notices regarding patients who present themselves very often to services, giving instructions from community mental health or crisis teams saying - do..do not..do..do not..contact..etc. In this situation, how can I be non-judgemental about the patient who is going to be seen by me? Is it not the case that we are blocking the emergence of new ways of dealing with apparently the same situation in future? I understand that we should not have any set ideas about any person before seeing him or her, but if we deal with same patients over and over again with the same pattern of behaviour, then, what are the ways that can help us become non-judgmental? Is it a basic instinct that at the end of the day we really cannot be non-judgemental?
On being non-judgemental 17 October 2006
Ovais Wadoo, SHO Sheffield Care Trust, Aadil Jan Shah (Gwent NHS trust) Send letter to journal: Re: On being non-judgemental owadoo{at}gmail.com Ovais Wadoo, et al.	I read the article “Repeated Self Injury” by Dr Leonard Fagin. It was interesting to read the response by Dr Md Ali Jaha wh argued whether we are really non-judgemental when dealing with certain patients who present repeatedly (for example people with borderline personality disorder or alcohol misuse). The response of staff dealing with self harm depends as much on their experience as any other factors. A junior psychiatrist answering a desperate call on a Friday evening about a young man threatening to cut his wrist may give different advice than a senior clinician who knows this patient well (as stated in the article). So to know a patient well, especially when the patient has difficult and complex problems becomes all the more important. We know that information gathering is key to making any diagnosis or management plans. So the information passed by our colleagues proves to be very important as it gives us the background of the patient, his past risk issues and previous interventions. As doctors we must use our skills and competencies to make judgements (clinical not moral) to ensure that patient receives best possible care and that is not being judgemental. Being non-judgemental means "relating to or having an open attitude without implicit moral judgement".