Countertransference and the wounded healer archetype in counseling

THE WOUNDED HEALER
Guiding Framework:
2014 ACA Code of Ethics, SECTION F.5.b. IMPAIRMENT. “Students and supervisees monitor themselves for signs of impairment from their own physical, mental, or emotional problems and refrain from offering or providing professional services when such impairment is likely to harm a client or others. They notify their faculty and/or supervisors and seek assistance for problems that reach the level of professional impairment, and, if necessary, they limit, suspend, or terminate their professional responsibilities until it is determined that they may safely resume their work.”
Your task:
1. Obtain and read Sedgwick, D. (1994). The Wounded Healer: Countertransference From a Jungian Perspective, Taylor & Francis: New York.ISBN-10: 0415106206 or ISBN-13: 978-0415106207. You can purchase the book via Amazon for under $30.00 or obtain a free copy viaWalden University’s Library Local Libraries (WorldCat)or Walden University’s Ask a Librarian @ https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/ask
This book is about countertransference (the redirection of a counselor’s feelings toward others—or, more generally, as a counselor’s emotional entanglement with others) from a Jungian perspective, taking into consideration the archetype of the wounded healer—the one who perseveres, and as a result is able to use this resilience to help others (how to work with counter-transference).After you read the book (or listened to the book on tape), please provide a detailed writtenresponsein the following areas:
2. In your responses, please describe how you are engaging in both aspects of self-growth (as defined in the SDP Assignment Evaluation Rubric at the end of this document) and describe how you are developing and internalizing the professional dispositions as targeted outcomes for this assignment (as defined in the SDP Assignment Evaluation Rubric at the end of this document).
3. Discuss and analyze your understanding of countertransference as an analytic phenomenon and the specific parts of your unwanted self (e.g., anxiousness, callousness, deceitfulness, grandiosity, hostility, impulsivity, irresponsibility, manipulativeness, perseveration, perfectionism, submissiveness, suspiciousness, and withdrawal) that you tend to project onto others.
My delineation of understanding of countertransference takes into account the sensory, affective, mental as well as behavioral responses demonstrated by the analyst to clients that are centered for the most part on the individual personality and psychology of the analyst. This is especially in regard to his or her unsettled or unresolved conflicts or internal battles, unaddressed and unsatisfied needs, biases as well as intricacies. My perspective is that majority of the responses emanate in the unconscious interrelation between the client and the therapist. Nonetheless, some magnitude of conscious cognizance ought to develop, at some point in time, so as for the therapist to have the ability to efficaciously utilized countertransference during sessions.



4. Identify and explain how you experience the five primary emotions – happiness, anger, disgust, fear, and sadness (Baumann &Mattingley, 2012); and how you deflect these onto others or use defense mechanisms to disconnect yourself from fully experiencing them.
When I am experiencing happiness, I usually deflect this emotion onto others by trying to do everything possible to make them smile and be happy as well. However, when I am angry I usually deflect these emotions on to other by not trying to deal with the issue at hand. In regard to disgust, I usually deflect the emotion on to others by trying to blame them for the situation at hand regardless of whether they are at fault. In regard to fear and sadness, I use them as a defense mechanism and I usually opt to disconnect myself from completely experiencing these emotions.



5. Examine and analyze any tendency you may have to act as a “dependent” student (e.g., demand continuous attention but are unaware of your insatiable need; enticing, unconsciously seductive, and gratifying).
One of the tendencies that I may have to act as a dependent student takes into account demanding incessant attention from fellow students and instructors as well but I lack awareness of my insatiable needs. More often than not, I will have a preference to have students ask me questions or take part in questions linked to the subject matter at hand.


6. Examine and analyze any tendency you may have to act as an “entitled” student (e.g., use intimidation, guilt, and threats of punishment; overtly devaluing of others).

One of the tendencies that I may have to act as an entitled student is overtly ignoring others, which can easily come out as being self-entitled and not taking into consideration the feelings of others. As a student, I am usually scared of being part of or being involved in a classroom community. This is largely because at times I am self-conscious and mortified about my own feelings of inadequacy. For example, I might opt not to be involved in a work group session and ignore others because of being embarrassed about my academic weakness that I would not want to be divulged.


7. Examine and analyze any tendency you may have to act as a “help-rejecting” student (e.g., demand faculty or supervisor feedback but show alittle faith in feedback and do not follow recommended advice; fear of abandonment).

A tendency that I may have to act as a help-rejecting student is that I am one of those persons who are hard to provide assistance to. I am one of those people who can easily provide assistance to others but I have a hard time accepting assistance from others. Within the classroom setting, I will be willing to assist other students in any coursework or examinations but it will be hard for me to accept their assistance. This is because I mostly feel that accepting assistance from other is being an inconvenience and perhaps they will not offer it out of genuine appreciation or desire to help.


8. Examine and analyze any tendency you may have to act as a “self-destructive” student (e.g., dangerous actions;purposely engaging in life-threatening behaviors; denial of the consequences of your behavior; evoke ill-will from others).

One of the tendencies that I may have to act as a “self-destructive” student is pessimism. This is largely linked to the belief that I have by constantly thinking that life is bad and that matters will continue to go negatively. For the most part, this is based on an entrenched belief that I am not really worthy of good things. For instance, as a student, I usually see the downside or negative aspect of situations. When I fail to understand a certain concept, I usually start thinking that I will fail the course or that I am not meant to understand the concept at all.


9. Identify and discuss additional countertransference-inducing situations that you have experienced as a student and countertransference-inducing situations you anticipate experiencing during the remainder of your counselor education training.

Some of the countertransference-inducing situations that I have experienced as a student take into account issues to do with my psychology. Countertransference-inducing situations are as reliant on the situation and me as an individual as any other. Some of the situations that I expect to experience in the course of the remainder of my counselor education training is provoking fear-based or frustrated anger. I anticipate that at times I might find it exceedingly hard to react devoid of any restriction.


10. Identify and discuss how “the shadow of countertransference” may manifest during your clinical work with clients and reception of feedback from instructors or supervisors and how you will effectively acknowledge the shadow and work with it as opposed to denying it.

The way “the shadow of countertransference” may manifest during my clinical work with clients is by losing awareness of the patient pole within myself and projecting it completely onto the client. The way in which I will effectively acknowledge the shadow and work with it as opposed to denying it is being cognizant of the shadow side to internalize my own wounded pole in order to come to the realization that only the divine healer can be of assistance and that the psychiatrist being only human can facilitate its appearance.


11. Reflect upon your beliefs and feelings related to “self-disclosure” and how this contrasts with the discussion from The Wounded Healer. How will you practice and monitor healthy self-disclosure and exhibit awareness of and respect for appropriate interpersonal boundaries as you interact with instructors, clients, supervisors, peers, and others?

I believe that the sensible and prudent use of self-disclosure, when carried out to address and meet the needs of the patient, bring about a humanly and necessitated aspect in therapy and can improve the bond that is present. Akin to all human beings, therapists necessitate self-confidence and a healthy longing to be recognized, have a connection with others, feel valued and respected. The main way in which I will practice and monitor healthy self-disclosure and portray awareness of and respect for suitable interpersonal boundaries as I interact with other parties is by making certain that what I reveal is not biased and does not poorly sway the beliefs and feelings of others.


12. Reflect upon your reactions and assumptions to the case illustrations presented in The Wounded Healer. What do you learn from these illustrations to help you establish and maintain effective and functional relationships personally, professionally, and therapeutically?

The case studies presented in the book significantly help me to establish and sustain effective and functional relationships not only personally but also professionally and therapeutically. I have learnt about the important of being heedful of my internal processes in association to the experiences of the client. There is also the significance of observing, understanding and caring for the personal, wounded parts that are within me that can be instigated during the session. From a professional perspective, the cases have taught me that it is imperative not to get exceedingly emotionally or mentally distant from the client and to work towards the development of a healthy therapeutic association. At the same time, the cases also point out the importance of not being too empathizing or exceedingly identifying with the client.