Just some questions.

What happens to those who provide care and support, afterwards?
Are they given adequate support and care themselves?

How long would it take for a counsellor or psychologist to, in a way, forget a patient they have treated frequently over several months? Do you think they still think about patients even after they stop treating them for awhile?

Surely they would maintain a professional distance, no matter how invested they are, do you think they can be emotionally attached to their patient even though it should not be the case? and in a way that they may be irrevocably altered should something happen?

I think they may feel a sense of failure, or guilt over what they may have missed, or may have done wrong, I suppose as anyone who knew the person would, even if they were told that it was not their fault.

Hi p1515p1

Speaking as someone who has worked alongside psychologists and psychiatrists for a long time - they are trained how to cope with what they call transference/countertransference (the feelings for the client to the counsellor and the counsellor's feelings for the client) and know if they feel they are getting too emotionally involved with a client to seek advice from another fellow counsellor/psychologist/psychiatrist.

They are human and I have seen a psychiatrist cry over a particularly sad case. However they are trained to be extremely careful about getting over-involved with a client. Of course this doesn't mean they don't care or think about the person they are counselling/treating.

They have to be extremely careful to keep within proper boundaries or they are faced with negligence/abuse claims.

I don't know if this addresses your concerns? Yes they do have feelings - sometimes they move a client they can't get on with to another counsellor - but they are highly trained to monitor their reactions to the people they counsel.

Cheers.