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

Trauma and the Therapist 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). Therapists' awareness of attunement to these processes will inform their therapeutic interventions, enrich their work, and protect themselves and their clients. The authors also offer many strategies for avoiding the countertransference vicarious traumatization cycle. While the topic is specific, the authors' approach is broad, drawing from and synthesizing the diverse literature on countertransference and trauma theory. Utilizing the sophistication of psychoanalytic theory and the specificity of contemporary trauma theory, Pearlman and Saakvitne present their approach clearly and compellingly. This book will help all therapists treating incest survivors feel less isolated and traumatized by their work, and give them a renewed appreciation of its rewards.