When the therapist's and the client's woundedness meet: Dialogical selves of Filipino self-identified wounded healers

Abstract

Introduction

The dominant literature on wounded healers assumes that the healer must be healed of one's wounds to be an effective therapist and that countertransference, moments in therapy when a healer's wounds are activated, must be successfully managed. Lacking in the literature is an understanding of the internal dynamics of wounded healers as they navigate moments of countertransference. Veering away from a unitary and static view of the self, we argue for a shift in how we understand wounded healers using the lens of a multiple and dynamic self. Through Herman's dialogical self-theory, we conceptualise the wounded healer as having multiple selves—the wounded self (WS) and the therapist self (TS). Each self is an I-position with its own unique voices and narratives.

Method

Through in-depth interviews with Filipino self-identified wounded healers, we examine the internal voices of the WS and TS during moments of countertransference, as the WS meets the client's wounded self.

Findings

Results show that the participants' characterisation of their WS, or where they are in their journey of healing or recovery, shapes their countertransference experience. Participants with recovered WS channelled the voices of calm recognition and differentiation. Voices of identification, re-experiencing and differentiation surfaced among participants with recovering WS. Participants with emerging WS transitioned from a voice of not knowing to a voice of identification.

Conclusion

Being aware of and listening to the voices of the WS alongside the TS is key in navigating countertransference. The implications of a dialogical understanding of wounded healers in clinical practice are discussed.