Background:

Formal medical education has left out the idea of therapeutic / harmful effect in the doctor-patient relationship despite the works of Michael Balint and those accumulated from 1960 to date. Training in this subjective field is omitted in the medical curriculum.

Objective:

To explore what family medicine teachers think about the possible teaching of the therapeutic elements of the doctor-patient relationship.

Methods:

Semi-structured interviews with 2 experienced family medicine teachers, using the qualitative research method and grounded theory as a means of data analysis.

Results:

The teachers described elements and barriers involved in teaching the doctor-patient relationship with therapeutic power.

Conclusion:

The empathic capacity and the development of self-awareness are therapeutic elements; a way of development is reflection on “difficult” patients. The hospital environment could be detrimental to empathic development. The family medicine residency in Mexico could be failing to train residents with skills to form therapeutic doctor-patient relationships.

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