Skip to Main Content
2
Views
2
CrossRef citations
Altmetric

Article

On Being Competent Even If We Don't Know Everything

Pages 209-222
Published online: 28 Dec 2017
 
Translator disclaimer

This article describes long-term psychotherapy with a patient who had been abused as a child. Various moments and elements of the therapy are discussed along with some of the thinking behind the work. Although most therapy requires the therapist to do some degree of questioning and experimenting, this is even more the case with patients who use heavy denial and dissociation. It is essential in working with such individuals that the clinician be willing to explore and find ways of dealing with the patient's deep distress and profound lack of trust. The therapist must also be able to accept his or her own feelings of helplessness and doubt while remaining grounded and present in the therapeutic relationship.

Additional information

Author information

Lise Small

Lise Small, M.A., is a Certified Transactional Analyst and a psychotherapist in private practice in Paris, France, where she works in both English and French. She has been active in transactional analysis since its beginning in France. She is an associate of the Institute for Integrative Psychotherapy, New York.