Mrs H., 24 years old and mother of four children born in five years, was referred for domiciliary family planning. Though her husband worked as a carpenter, the family was in debt and social services were involved. At the first visit Mrs H. gave the impression of someone without any cares. She opted for the Pill, though regularly complained about it, and it was changed twice with no improvement. When the last baby was a year old she left home briefly, significantly when her social worker, to whom she had become very attached, left and was replaced by a new one. When next seen by the family planning doctor she made various derogatory remarks about the new worker. The doctor responded to this by saying it took time to get used to a new person and she must feel sad about the other one leaving. This allowed her to cry, although she did not say much.

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