Group therapists' countertransference reactions to multiple deaths from aids

Therapists' Experience of Loss: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

“…These were mainly therapists' experiences of the death of a close relative, the end of therapy owing to the client's death, and other types of personal losses (Kouriatis & Brown, 2011). The majority of research has been conducted on therapists' reactions to clients' suicide (Christianson & Everall, 2009;Dewar, Eagles, Klein, Gray & Alexander, 2000;Goldstein & Buongiorno, 1984;Hendin, Lipschitz, Maltsberger, Pollinger Haas, & Wynecoop, 2000;McAdams & Foster, 2000Reed & Greenwald, 1991;Ruskin, Sakinofsk, Bagby, Dickens & Sousa, 2004) or terminal illness (Bennet, Kelaher & Ross, 1994;Gabriel, 1991Gabriel, , 1994Hunt & Rosenthal, 2000;Kachik, 2001;Strug & Podell, 2002), whereas therapists' bereavement after losing a close relative, client, friend, or therapist, losing own health, and experiencing other personal maladies have been presented mostly in anecdotal accounts (Balsam & Balsam, 1984;Garfield, 1990;Givelber & Simon, 1981;Guy, 1987;Lewis, 1982;Morrison, 1990;Pappas, 1989;Rappaport, 2000;Shapiro, 1985;Vamos, 1993;Wong, 1990) and a few qualitative studies (Boyden, 2006;Bozenski, 2006;Colao-Vitolo, 2006;Martin, 2011;Millon, 1998;Schwartz, 2004). A loss may lead to enhanced realization of one's own mortality and existential issues but also a normalization of feelings and the need to grieve (Boyden, 2006;Bozenski, 2006, Colao-Vitolo, 2006…”

Therapists’ Bereavement and Loss Experiences: A Literature Review

“…Empirical studies (Allen & Miller, 1988;Bennet, Kelaher & Ross, 1994;Hunt & Rosenthal, 2000;Kachik, 2001), clinical vignettes (Gabriel, 1991;Strug & Podell, 2002), personal accounts (Bell, 1988) and the works of Bennet (1995), Dane (1995), Dane and Miller (1992), and Katz and Johnson, (2006) support that therapists experience grief, depression, helplessness, battle fatigue syndrome, while Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (Gabriel, 1994), inability to treat future patients (Bonde, 2001) but also greater empathy towards clients after such experiences (Allen & Miller, 1988) have also been reported. On this note, Worden (2009) Research on clients' death in these circumstances is almost inexistent.…”

The cotherapy relationship: Special issues and problems in aids therapy groups

“…Four distinct themes and related patterns of interaction were identified. The first dealt with how co-leadership may serve to enhance perception through the presence of a second therapist (Block, 1961;Demarest & Teicher, 1954;MacLennan, 1965;McGee & Schuman, 1970); the second involved the mechanism of splitting (Cooper, 1976;Heilfron, 1969;Kadis & Markowitz, 1973) and its effect on the cotherapy relationship and ultimately the group dynamics; the third related to the impact of parental transferences on the cotherapist relationship (Block, 1961;Cooper, 1976;Grand, 1982;Yalom, 1985); the fourth involved the influence of multiple deaths on the cotherapy relationship (Bechett & Rutan, 1990;Gabriel, 1991;Gambel & Getzel, 1989;Spiegel & Yalom, 1978;Tunnel, 1991).…”