Being aware of the limitations is one of the signs of being able to manage your mental health, and one of the biggest demands that is placed on mental health workers, actually. For example, there is hardly a more dangerous professional than one that believes that he or she has overcome all his or her prejudices, can work with all types of patients, and can cure everyone without a hitch. these people are likely to blame all their problems in therapy on the patient, while in reality, a lot of them are probably coming from themselves. Definitely, if you realize some people are punching you buttons, remove yourself from the picture until you can figure how to stop that from happening.
Byz; I think I need to clarify my response to AAAA's post. Indirectly, I "Know" a person who did just that while unmedicated. It was horrible. Just thinking of being in that position turns my stomach, as this person was also bipolar. My thanks referred more to that capital punishment would have been more merciful, but no, I don't think that inthis case it was even considered an option, this person was so obviously ill. My honest opinion is that while even if I might consider it "merciful" I might not consider that society has the right to mete that sentence out for the very reasons you give. I cannot think of a worse prison to be caged in than that poor parent is now. Huggs.