Incest and the Holocaust – such a desperate parallel is drawn by Ursula Wirtz, a psychotherapist at the Jung Institute in Zurich (Switzerland). The fusion of guilt and shame experienced by victims of life’s tragedies makes the work of a psychotherapist difficult and at times impossible.
Incest and the Holocaust – such a desperate parallel is drawn by Ursula Wirtz, a psychotherapist at the Jung Institute in Zurich (Switzerland). The fusion of guilt and shame experienced by victims of life’s tragedies makes the work of a psychotherapist difficult and at times impossible. He has to cope not only with the feelings of patients, but with his own, and they are very strong, and among them there are those in which it is difficult to admit even to oneself – anger, contempt for the weak, fear (including the fear of becoming depressed). In victims, unbearable experiences include defense mechanisms: avoidance, withdrawal, personality splitting. Ursula Wirtz sees them as useful for self-preservation and relief from suffering. However, “what helped to endure family hell sometimes produces hell again in adulthood. Life requires other strategies, not survival. What once protected against madness can now drive you crazy.” She figures out how to get out of this vicious circle by looking at different strategies for dealing with the intolerable for both therapists and their clients.
Kogito-Center, 293 p.