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There are two aspects to your queryHow do Doctors feel when a patient or caregiver asks questionsI do not think it is a question how a doctor feels but how he responds to the questions that is important. It is not an emotive issue or one that involves pathos but one that needs calm and resolute handling in the current weather of 4G and mobile internet. There are generally three types of questions patients or caregivers askThose pertaining to condition, diagnosis or treatment planThose pertaining to treatment alternatives, outcomes of treatment and future courseThose pertaining to confirmation bias, anecdotal therapies and laymen conjectures about Doctors, hospitals, systems of medicine and healthcare in general.Asking questions of the first two types is the right of the patient and designated caregiver and part of full disclosure to obtain informed consent or compliance with diagnosis and treatment. I encourage such questions and I feel everyone must do so. It is always better to deal with a patient and family that is fully apprised and seized of the patient's condition, diagnosis and treatment plan including the risks.It is the third category of questions that present a vexing issue. All Doctors are aware of their own fallibility as humans as well as the fact that their science and scientific recommendations which are constantly being revised are not infallible. However if patient and caregiver come with pre-conceived notions and confirmation biases based on anecdotes, unauthenticated reports then it can be impossible and frustrating to reason with them in a logical or scientific manner. I patiently listen and try to reason with them for a while but if I find them to be cynical and unreasonably opinionated , I recuse myself and ask them to see some other doctor.The second aspect of your query pertains to arguments. I believe these are not arguments but rambunctious negotiations that stem out of the third category of questions. As a doctor my job is to provide a professional opinion based on my qualifications and experience in manner that I deduce is best suited to the patient's medical condition. My job is not to provide an opinion that suits the patient or caregiver's fancy, budget or pre-conceived ideas. If there are equivalent treatments available, I have to present both to the patient and recommend one with proper justifications. What I cannot and should not do is kowtow to negotiations of patient and caregivers based on unscientific or unsubstantiated anecdotes from a source that is not authenticated. While dealing with such negotiations I gently try to point out the flaws in what is being negotiated but if there arguments transcend reasonable behaviour then I firmly refuse to negotiate and ask the patient to seek another doctor because I cannot be persuaded to offer a treatment or diagnosis that I am not convinced will do no harm. Doing so will violate the ethical caveat that says first do no harm.

"Social" doesn't only mean "Photos of me drunk from last night", but also...Social may, and should, mean staying in touch with your loved ones, people you care about, and people who care about you. Just like you caregivers, those people who take care of you while you're in treatment, or your loved one, who takes care of everything related to your condition (billing, managing your medical records, etc.)As Natalie mentioned, a communication system that complies with HIPAA and other regulations is indeed needed and should be adjusted to the needs of the healthcare industrySocial may also mean your professional circles (LinkedIn, anyone?) and can connect doctors to other doctors, patients to their doctors, and patients to doctors they may not have heard of, or could reach (second opinion from the other side of the world, anyone?) through a social system of voting and/or connections.The great fellas at the Medisafe Project (MediSafe Project) use your social circles to make sure you take your medications on time. This is, to me, a pure social element of caregiving, and a great example of execution.Disclosure: I co-founded Hello Doctor (Hello Doctor) and a friend of the great guys from Medisafe, who I believe are extremely relevant for this question.

Should a psychotherapist be open about their feelings and reactions to a patient?As with most psychotherapy questions about what to do or not do, there is no one size fits all answers. How open therapist are with their clients usually depends on some combination of the following factors:Type of Therapy: Different psychotherapy modalities have different rules. The rules are there because they help that type of therapy succeed. For example, let’s look at therapist’s self-revelation in three of the modalities that I am certified to do:Masterson’s Developmental, Self, and Object Relations Approach to Disorders of the SelfThis approach developed out of psychoanalysis, utilizes the interpretation of transference as a tool, analytic interpretations, and requires strict analytic neutrality.What is involved with analytic neutrality?The analyst avoids revealing data about their personal life.The analyst does not give advice or do counseling.The analyst uses the transference to help the client understand themselves better. Transference is the projection onto the therapist of characteristics of important early caregivers. What is transferred gives the analyst a fairly accurate window into the patient’s childhood.The analyst does not overtly takes sides and support one part of the client’s personality against another.Gestalt TherapyGestalt therapy does not require analytic neutrality because it does not emphasize transference as a tool. Gestalt therapy stresses:AuthenticityRelatednessCreativityContactAwareness of the connection between body and mindInterpersonal awarenessBeiing present in the momentExploring whatever is happening in the momentContact, relatedness, and authenticity can be fostered by the therapist being present as a human being with feelings, thoughts, and opinions. How much the therapist reveals about themself to the client is left to the therapist’s judgement.The Basic Rule: The therapist must always consider carefully how much to reveal and make sure that whatever is revealed is in the client’s interest.Ericksonian HypnotherapyThis is a specific type of hypnotherapy invented by the amazing Milton H. Erickson. Erickson basically invented new interventions and methods for each client. He threw out the old rule books about self disclosure. His methods were unorthodox and highly successful. Some of the things that Ericksonian Hypnotherapy teaches therapists to do include:Craft carefully worded stories from their life that have an embedded psychological truth in them that the client can utilize.Give helpful suggestions.Assume the client already has all the tools they need to live a good life and just needs help accessing them.Give appropriate homework exercises.See clients in setting other than a formal office.Erickson had polio as a boy, recovered, and became an extremely innovative psychiatrist. He had a relapse and was confined to a wheel chair. His clients came to visit and Erickson was quite open with them. This is the opposite of analytic neutrality.Type of Client: Some people benefit from knowing real things about their therapist and others do not. Therapists need to consider their clients’ needs and do their best to have their methods and degree of self-disclosure suit their client.Formality: Some clients report needing to maintain some distance from their therapist in order to speak frankly. Seeing their therapist as a real person would feel too inhibiting.Authenticity: Other clients were lied to a lot as children or never got any real or helpful feedback about themselves or what their parents thought and felt. These clients often do well with a therapist who is more open and willing to be authentic and self-disclose more than the average therapist.Crisis: Some clients are in emergency situations and do not have the time, money, or circumstances to benefit from a leisurely traditional psychotherapy that focuses mainly on self reflection. They are going off the rails, their life is going up in flames, and they need some rational guidance or advice.Therapist’s Personality: Therapists have preferences like the rest of us.Formal: A formal person who likes rules and predictability who becomes a therapist is likely to choose to do a type of therapy that fits their personality.Creative and Free Wheeling: A highly creative person who is very comfortable with the unknown is likely to choose to do a type of therapy with fewer rules and more freedom to experiment.Open and Authentic: Someone who is extremely open and enjoys being authentic with people is likely to choose to do a type of therapy where those qualities are valued.Punchline: Whether a psychotherapist chooses to be open and transparent with clients depends on three main factors: (1) The type of therapy and what it requires, (2) The client’s needs, and (3) The therapist’s personality and personal preferences. What might be considered highly inappropriate behavior to a psychoanalyst might be normal and acceptable—even required— by a different therapeutic approach.A2AElinor Greenberg, PhD, CGPIn private practice and the author of the book: Borderline, Narcissistic, and Schizoid Adaptations.www.elinorgreenberg.com