E-Book of Articles - World Federation of Music Therapy

Sutton, Julie; Beyond the Ordinairy
Finally, we must be able to come to awareness of how, as individuals, we
respond to hearing about traumatic events. We know that our own histories
contain experiences of feeling traumatised. We know of the impact of this
at both conscious and unconscious levels upon our work with vulnerable
clients and several authors have written about the necessity of this
awareness in therapists. Sedgewick, a Jungian analyst, reviewed some of
this literature from a range of theoretical frameworks and used examples of
his own clinical practice to explore countertransference at different
levels 26 . Considering the area in general he commented,
"Not just the patient but the therapist brings his entire "self" -
neuroses, wounds, needs, soul, etc. - to the analysis." 27
This is, of course, central to all therapy work. However, in working with and
thinking about those who have lived through events where survival has been
at threat, our own histories can be particularly exposed. As clinicians we
know that we should become aware of this in order to safeguard our clients
and ourselves. As Sedgewick wrote,
"the analyst should note both how he is interpreting and where he is
interpreting from." 28
As therapists we cannot separate ourselves from the communities we work
within, in the same way as those in therapy are affected by the outside
world. This is seen very clearly when considering the ripple effect of a
traumatic event. In terms of Northern Ireland there has been a series of
traumatic events that range from actual to perceived threat to life. The
nature of the violence has also changed over time, for instance, from the
individualising to the generalising of the campaigns. Individual targets were
Smyth, M., Morrissey, M., Fay, M-T. (1999) Northern Ireland's Troubles. The Human Costs
London, Pluto Press, pp180-200
26
Sedgewick, D. (1994) The Wounded Healer. Countertransference from a Jungian
Perspective London, Routledge
27
Sedgewick, D. (1994) pp42
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