The Wounded Healer: From the Other Side of the Couch

Amundson, Jon K.; Ross, Marc W.

doi:10.1080/00029157.2016.1163657

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Although the concept of the 'wounded healer' (WH) originates in shamanic traditions, it springs up in the discourse of several interrelated mental health professions such as psychiatric nursing (Conti-O'Hare, 1998;MacCulloch & Shattell, 2009), counselling psychology (Martin, 2011), clinical psychology (Farber et al, 2005), psychiatry (Kirmayer, 2003), social work (Straussner et al, 2018), criminology (LeBel et al, 2015) and many schools of psychotherapy (Arnaud, 2017;Farber, 2017;Rice, 2011;Zerubavel & Wright, 2012); most notably the Jungian tradition of psychoanalysis (Merchant, 2011;Wong, 1997). Portrayals of psychotherapists as WHs have proliferated in the past few decades (Amundson & Ross, 2016;Millon et al, 1986;Rippere & Williams, 1985;Sherman & Thelen, 1998), the suggestion being that the experience and overcoming of emotional pain imbues one with both interest and insight in human suffering.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ethos of the nourished wounded healer: A narrative inquiry

Hadjiosif

2021

European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling

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Despite a plethora of texts on the 'wounded healer', little systematic research has been conducted on unpacking the implications and embedded assumptions of this concept. This paper takes the 'wounded healer' into the research arena by approaching it reflexively as an analytic tool to explore therapists' personal and professional development. Six therapeutic practitioners who identified with the concept were selected by means of theoretical sampling and were interviewed with a view to provide a narrative of their development as 'wounded healers'. Interviews were analysed using a tailored, multi-lens approach within a narrative epistemology. Besides attending to the narrative features of the accounts, the paper discusses findings in relation to three key themes: 'entering a community of wounded healers'; 'formulating the wounded healer'; and 'deconstructing the wounded healer'. Unpacking this modality flexible yet historically loaded construct necessitates challenging the 'wounded healer' as fixed identity and replacing it with an ethos that can lead to training, supervisory, and clinical recommendations facilitating psychotherapists' reflection on their woundedness. This complex process could allow them to engage in all aspects of professional practice, including research, from a position of an expert by both experience and training.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ethos of the nourished wounded healer: A narrative inquiry

Hadjiosif

2021

European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling

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“…Healthcare providers have also reached beyond research to write personal editorials (Olson, 2002), published journal articles (Coulter, 2008;Dowey, 2005;Memon, 2013;Taylor-Marshall, 2002;Tosh-Kennedy, 2007) and create public online blogs (Sczuroski, 2017) about personal illness experiences. By critically reflecting on personal illness experiences, individuals, including healthcare professionals, can make meaning of illness on a personal level, which in turn can inform their professional practice (Amundson & Ross, 2016;Charon, 2001Charon, /2004Himes, 2002;Lawson et al, 2017;Schwind, 2003Schwind, , 2004Taylor, 1992;Taylor-Marshall, 2002;Winawer, 1998).…”

Section: Personal Illness Storiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Personal illness experience of my adolescent self: a narrative inquiry self-study

Aksenchuk¹

2022

Preprint

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<p>Building on Dewey’s philosophy of experience, our personal and professional lived experiences are mutually informing. Thus, personal illness experiences may impact how we engage in professional roles. In this self-study, using Connelly and Clandinin’s Narrative Inquiry, I explore my experience of an eating disorder as an adolescent, and how this experience informs my nursing practice today. I crafted stories of my illness experience often using poetic prose. I analyzed these using the three levels of justification (personal, practical, social) through the theoretical lens of Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development. Four narrative threads (impulsivity: response to losing control, lack of autonomy, liminality, lack of meaningful relationships) emerged and coalesced into three narrative patterns (control, belonging, identity). This self-study provides healthcare professionals an understanding of the impact a stigmatized illness may have on one’s professional role. My intention is to inspire others to enter their own inquiry into their experiences of illness.</p>

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“…A recent systematic literature review (Bryce et al, 2023) indicated that “cumulative harm” of aversive childhood experiences can be a factor in choosing a helping profession because this work might have “self-healing” properties (Murphy & Halgin, 1995; Orlinsky & Rønnestad, 2005). Related to these aversive experiences is the archetype of the “wounded healer,” originally conceived by Carl Jung (Amundson & Ross, 2016), which suggests that lived childhood pain enables therapists to identify, be more patient, and empathize with their clients (Hadjiosif, 2021) while also allowing them to vicariously meet their own needs of intimacy and closeness (Dryden & Spurling, 1989).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

What brings you here?—A qualitative study on why therapists become and remain therapists.

van Oosterzee,

Meulenbeek,

Westerhof

2024

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice

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Therapists are prone to many occupational hazards, such as compassion fatigue and burnout. Despite much speculation, only a little is known about why therapists choose their profession and what drives them to keep practicing. In a job where the therapist is the main instrument, insight into what makes them tick is paramount to nurture durable therapeutic careers. In this qualitative study, 15 experienced Dutch therapists were interviewed about career choice motivations and how initial—and new—motivations continue to influence them in their daily professional practice. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis, consensus discussions, and member checks. Ten key career choice motivations emerged, ranging from an empathetic predisposition and interest in humanity to personal experience with symptoms and treatment, inspirational sources, desire for growth, life phase, and coincidental or (partially) subconscious motives. Seven themes that influenced therapists in their daily practice were identified. These included four initial motivations as well as three new themes: a knack for building bridges, going from surviving to thriving, and resilience. The insights gained from this study are a starting point for creating interventions that (re)ignite the spark and improve therapist resilience through regular maintenance, thereby promoting durable careers and mental health among (future) therapists themselves.

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The Wounded Healer: From the Other Side of the Couch

Cited by 8 publications

References 19 publications

The ethos of the nourished wounded healer: A narrative inquiry

The ethos of the nourished wounded healer: A narrative inquiry

Personal illness experience of my adolescent self: a narrative inquiry self-study

What brings you here?—A qualitative study on why therapists become and remain therapists.

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