Some patients keep visiting the university out-patient clinic for years in spite of low frequency of visits and a rapid succesion of physicians. In literature it is supposed, that for these people visiting the out-patient clinic is a goal in itself and not so much a means to recovery. Which kind of patients does it concern? The author compared a group of patients, who visited the clinic for over a year with a group, that ended contact within a year. When treatment started the longterm group comprised significantly more people over 30 years old and significantly more women. The visiting frequency, moreover, was lower from the start than that of short-term patients. According to literature and own research the author supposes that eertain, yet not clear aspects of personality structure are responsible for a patient-doctor relationship making termination of the contact very difficult. Of course, other explanations are possible. More research is needed before the results can be interpreted correctly, but nevertheless the author proposes to keep this possibility in mind right away from the start when dealing with out-patients.