PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - LH Strasburger
TI  - The litigant-patient: mental health consequences of civil litigation
DP  - 1999 Jun 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 203--211
VI  - 27
IP  - 2
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/27/2/203.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/27/2/203.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law1999 Jun 01; 27
AB  - Civil litigation often has profound psychological consequences for plaintiffs and defendants alike. For those individuals who are involved in ongoing psychotherapy, or those who enter psychotherapy during litigation, the stress of litigation often adds to whatever issues produced the lawsuit. This article reviews the effects of that stress, the mechanisms through which it arises, and its manifestations in psychotherapy and offers suggestions to increase psychotherapist awareness of the influence of litigation stress on treatment.