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Articles

Our Greatest Vulnerability in the Therapeutic Encounter

Being Human

Pages 322-330
Published online: 28 Dec 2017
 
Translator disclaimer

The desire to heal, the fear of failing, and the question of whether to gratify our clients’ needs or requests intermingle in the space where the personal and the professional seamlessly coalesce. Our inside humanness is an unavoidable part of our outside professionalness, but it is in the area of our very humanness that as professionals we are most vulnerable. The aware, reflective, responsible, humane, professional clinician will be able to navigate the inevitable tension between inside humanness and outside professionalism. In this article, the authors explore these ideas using clinical material to highlight this complexity. They also offer possible ways to navigate the psychotherapy journey in a professional, humane way in which both client and psychotherapist are protected, not from their humanity but from their capacity to injure in the attempt to protect their human vulnerability.

Additional information

Author information

Joleen Silbert

Author Biographies
Elana Leigh, BSc, MSc, Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy), graduated as a social worker in South Africa and went on to receive her master’s degree in integrative psychotherapy in London. She lives in Sydney, Australia, where she works as a psychotherapist, supervisor, and trainer. She has worked across a range of cultures, and her passion lies in integration and diversity in both theory and application. Elana can be reached at 158 Wellington Street, Bondi 2026, New South Wales, Australia; email: .
Joleen Silbert, BSocSc (SW) (Hons), Dip Psych, MEd, MASPA, has worked with individuals, families, and groups in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Australia as a social worker and counselor in private practice. She works as a psychotherapist, mindfulness-based stress reduction teacher, trauma release exercises (TRE) therapist, and trainer and supervisor of counselors and psychotherapists. Joleen trained as a somatic psychotherapist and has a special interest in (and in the intersection of) attachment, human development, interpersonal neurobiology, cultural diversity, and mindfulness and is particularly interested in the fundamental and extraordinary wisdom of the body-mind. Joleen is a member the Australian Somatic Psychotherapy Association. She can be reached at 305/6 Hall Street, Bondi Beach 2026, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; email: .
 

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