This article provides a personal account of loss, survival, and professional learning following a client’s suicide. The therapist’s own narrative is woven in with research about the construct of clinician-as-suicide-survivor. Aspects of supervision and training are discussed, in particular the importance of teaching an appreciation of danger and the demystification of psychotherapy through sharing stories of failure and loss.
This article is a therapist review of the process that occurred during a systematic case study of psychotherapy with 'Martha', a female client who presented with depression, anxiety, alexithymia and dismissive/avoidant attachment style.Assessment, diagnosis of the client and treatment direction is described, followed by a detailed account of the therapeutic process through 12 sessions and 2 posttherapy interviews. Analysis team results are summarised, indicating support for the therapist's identification of issues during the process of the therapy. Particular attention is paid by the analysis team two points of rupture and repair, with pragmatic evaluation confirming that the relational struggles between therapist and client seemed pivotal in generating positive change.
Cet article propose un récit personnel sur la perte, la survie, et l’apprentissage professionnel qui suit le suicide d’un client. L’histoire même du thérapeute est tissée de recherches sur la construction du clinicien-survivant-du-suicide. On abordera certains aspects de supervision et de formation, en particulier l’importance d’apprendre à apprécier le danger et la démystification de la psychothérapie grâce au partage d’histoires d’échec et de perte.
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