Sunday, July 5, 2015

How Therapicts Grieve

A therapist may spend hundreds of hours, perhaps more than a thousand, hearing about a patient’s most exalted aspirations and most murderous, hateful fantasies. During this time, the patient may endure excruciating losses, unbearable shame, bitter sadness and great triumphs. You may accompany patients through torturous adolescence into adulthood. Or you may meet them in middle age and be with them as they age and eventually die. You collaborate in a deep process of discovery.

Few encounters are this deeply honest, and therefore intimate. The attachment engenders profound feelings, a particular kind of love.

Dr. Robin Weiss' sensitive essay in the NY Times (July 5, 2015) is a good source of insights.

No comments:

Post a Comment