Identified patient is a term used in a clinical setting to describe the person in a dysfunctional family who has been subconsciously selected to act out the family's inner conflicts in order to keep attention focused on an element that lies outside of the core conflict. The identified patient, also called the "IP", or the "symptom-bearer", may display unexplainable emotional or physical symptoms, and is often the first person to seek help, often at the request of the family.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2699/is_0004/ai_2699000448/

The identified patient is described as the family member in whom the family's symptom is most obvious and/or has emerged.http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Identified+patient

• In a family where the parents need to assert themselves as powerful figures and care takers, often due to their own insecurities, they may designate one or more of their children as being inadequate, subconsciously assigning to the child the role of someone who cannot cope by themselves. For example, the child may exhibit some irrational problem that requires the constant care and attention of the parents.

• A child may be regarded as a bully and a troublemaker in school and labeled a "problem child," when he may in fact be expressing conflicts and problems, such as abuse from home, by acting out and being "bad."

• Patterson, JoEllen (1998). Essential skills in family therapy: from the first interview to termination‎. The Guilford Press. ISBN 1572303077