Table 6 Factor 2. Involvement in Therapeutic Choices. Item: I need to be more involved in therapeutic choices

For me, choosing the therapy together with a doctor means knowing what I will be up against with the therapy that the doctor decides to give me. And speaking about it together with him/her could help to find a more adaptive solution to my demands, perhaps changing a little of what he/she might administer to me. It would be good to be able to come up with a 50:50 understanding arrangement where I understand the doctors' demands who wishes to use therapy on me, and where he/she understands my demands too. Up to now I haven't taken part in such an arrangement.

The Choice

It is clear that therapeutic choice should be made by the doctor because I am not a doctor. However, the doctor must explain the purpose of the therapy he/she adopts so that I can make a distinction too. The doctor should make the choice, but he/she should also "listen" if the patient is willing to go through with such a choice. He/she should say: 'I propose this for this reason.' And I, who am the person directly involved will say: 'Yes. That's ok for me because I understand what it's supposed to do!