Psychology Commons^™

Descending Into And Out Of The Maelstrom: Soma And The Survival Struggle, Rachel M. Urbano

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to highlight the ways “surviving therapists” adapt to the inner-spaces in which they are still affected by their traumas. Surviving therapists are defined as therapists who identify as having experienced a trauma caused by another human being while maintaining an observational stance in relation to their body and self-experience. Therapists are not immune to the lasting effects of trauma: they may experience somatic reactivity and painful affective states in working with trauma patients. As surviving therapists have experienced events they may unconsciously choose to keep out of awareness, they may rely on …