When Participants' Trauma Becomes Mine

Abstract

This chapter is a reflection on the author's work in the context of trauma-focused qualitative research entitled “Risk and protective factors for the mental health consequences of childhood political trauma (Argentina 1976-1983) among adult Jewish Argentinian immigrants to Israel.” By examining the author's emotional reactions during the process of the data collection and analysis of her doctoral study, the author will explore the challenges that she faced, as well as the solutions she employed (both the effective and ineffective). More specifically, using the lens of the psychoanalytical term “countertransference”, she will discuss the manifestations of her positionality as a qualitative researcher and its impact on her engagement with her study. The author will elaborate on different strategies that she used for her study, and propose qualitative researchers to use “countertransference” as a way to understand and address the complexity of a researcher's positionality in narrative research.