Trauma and the Therapist: Countertransference and Vicarious Traumatization in Psychotherapy with Incest Survivors

by Laurie Anne Pearlman, Karen W. Saakvitne

This book explores the role and experience of the therapist in the therapeutic relationship by examining countertransference (the therapist's response to the client) and vicarious traumatization (the therapist's response to the stories of abuse told by client after client). The authors address specific issues that arise in treatment of incest survivors.

Genres: Psychology, Mental Health, Nonfiction

474 pages, Paperback

First published July 17, 1995

Reviews

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books ever written for trauma therapists.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This resource is obviously outdated in it's understanding of trauma, trauma treatment, and best practices in psychotherapy, but it has some helpful perspectives that you don't read in many books in the profession anymore. Current culture and resources in psychotherapy are so focused on treatment interventions and the latest research that we sometimes skip over the heart of therapy and the long term experiences of those practicing it. I appreciated the time spent talking about countertransference and the therapeutic relationship as well as the existential and spiritual effects on the therapist of doing this work. This book normalized my vicarious trauma experience, and it gave me permission to set some habits, boundaries, and filters I've felt tentative making. The last two chapters were what I was looking for in this book - a set of strategies for staying healthy while experiencing vicarious trauma and an acknowledgment of the reasons and beauty of doing trauma therapy. And although these two chapters take up only 10% of the book, they were gold.

[Iqra Tasmiae]

Anirudh Kala (on Transference)- https://m.facebook.com/story.php?stor...
Further reading- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body-...
Amazon (description)-https://www.amazon.com/Trauma-Therapi...

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

goodwill, date of purchase unknown; sticker price $4.99.

clean text, tight binding, slight wear on dust jacket.

borrowed from library, 1 Feb. 2014