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Why Are We Psychotherapists?

:
The Necessity of Help for the Helper
Ann Heathcote

Abstract requirements set down by the psychotherapy


The aim of this article is to encourage trans- regulating body here in the UK: the United
actional analysis (TA) psychotherapists, in Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP),
general, and trainee TA psychotherapists, in Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy Sec-
particular, to develop a deeper understand- tion (HIPS). For example, Candidates must
ing of their choice of profession and the po- have an experience of psychotherapy congruent
tential consequences of this personally and with the psychotherapy in which they are train-
professionally. Some of the literature re- ing, a minimum of 40 hours per year for four
garding the psychological underpinnings of years, and normally be in psychotherapy through-
the choice of psychotherapy as a career are out their training (United Kingdom Council
explored. In addition, the author considers for Psychotherapy, 2003, p. 9).
some of the implications of these psychologi- In his keynote speech at the 2007 ITAA/
cal underpinnings, namely the importance of USATAA Conference in San Francisco, Rich-
commitment to the personal journey as a psy- ard Erskine (2008, p. 35) argued that the extent
chotherapist, particularly the ongoing need of the pressure we put on people to change cor-
for personal psychotherapy, training, and relates with the extent to which they will
supervision for the sake of both clients and secretly resist. I think pressure could in-
the psychotherapist. clude the prescriptive nature of personal thera-
______ py requirements. Tudor (2008b) considers that
personal therapy is too important to be required
Sometimes, behind the lines or regulated and makes the point that by speci-
Of words giving voice to the blue wind fying the number of hours per year (albeit a
That blows across the amber fields minimum), the HIPS ruling encourages an at-
Of your years, whispering the hungers titude of doing therapy by numbers (p. 1) and
Your dignity conceals, and the caves a mechanistic and reductionistic attitude on
Of loss opening along shores forgotten the part of students/trainees (pp. 4-5). In a
By the ocean, you almost hear the depth similar vein, Oates (2003) expressed her con-
Of white silence, rising to deny everything. cern that defining a therapy requirement in this
(ODonohue, 2000, p. 111) way makes it a rule rather than a value (p. 2)
This article was inspired by both my growing and thereby potentially diminishes trainees
concern regarding negative attitudes toward the capacity for autonomy and self-direction.
need for ongoing, in-depth personal therapy Furthermore, I know from my own personal
among some transactional analysis psycho- therapy and the experience of many of my trans-
therapists and psychotherapy trainees and the actional analysis colleagues, that 160 hours (i.e.,
book The Healers Bent by the late Pennsyl- the minimum requirement) touches only the tip
vania psychoanalyst James McLaughlin (2005). of the iceberg in terms of having an in-depth
In the United Kingdom (UK), I have noticed psychotherapy. For example, since 1991, when
in recent years a resistance among some trans- I began my psychotherapy training, I have been
actional analysis psychotherapy trainees (and in ongoing weekly psychotherapy (apart from
psychotherapists) to pursue in-depth psycho- two 6-month gaps while changing therapists), and
therapy for themselves. I suspect this resistance I know I still have much to learn about myself.
is, at least in part, a reaction to the increasingly From discussions with international transac-
prescriptive nature of the personal therapy tional analysis colleagues, I believe my concerns

Vol. 39, No. 3, July 2009 239


ANN HEATHCOTE

and experience are not limited to the United The Psychological Underpinnings of Our
Kingdom and that similar changes are also tak- Choice of Profession as Psychotherapists
ing place elsewhere. I know my innocence
In a writing workshop at the 2007 ITAA/ and I know my unknowing
USATAA Conference, Jean Illsley Clarke con- but for all my successes
fronted the stance I took in the first draft of this I go through life
paper, stating, We all come through with brok- like a blind child
en wings (J. Clarke, personal communication, who cannot see,
8 August 2007), and that for each of us, our arms outstretched
journey is deeply personal and we must make trying to put together
our own journey in our own way. I agree that a world.
we are all on our own journeys and that per- (W hyte, 1997, p. 15)
sonal growth can be achieved in many ways, in- The work of Greenson (1960), Olinick (1969),
cluding through (though not limited to) living Erskine (2001), and McLaughlin (2005) helps
and relationships (Rogers, 1990/1961); over- to provide some level of understanding regard-
coming hurdles and difficult experiences; dif- ing the possible psychological underpinnings of
ferent types of learning; meditation; self- our choice of profession as psychotherapists.
inquiry; and psychotherapy. However, for those Greenson (1960) concentrated on the repara-
of us who have chosen to be psychotherapists, tive aspect of psychotherapy work for the psy-
and particularly if our intention is to offer in- chotherapist. He suggested that the patient/
depth psychotherapy to our clients, I have a client is a lost, need-fulfilling love object (p.
deeply held conviction that it is our ethical re- 424) who provides for the psychotherapist an-
sponsibility to remain fully committed to our other potential opportunity for repair and resti-
continuing growth and personal psychotherapy. tution for the loss of contact with the original
In his book, The Healers Bent, McLaughlin abandoning/rejecting mother. This is equivalent
(2005) raised important questions about our to saying that we use our clients to meet our
motivations for choosing to become psycho- own needs for contact, strokes, and reparation
therapists. H e thought our (and his) choice of (Gellert, 1977; Samuels, 1971).
occupation was a bit odd, since we sit still, Olinick (1969) emphasized how psychothera-
containing . . . [our] own needs, fears and pas- pists are impelled to serve for their own sake,
sions so that others may be freer (p. 17, italics their own equilibrium. He likened the therapist-
added). He suggested that we did not just stum- client dyad to that of the mother-child unit. He
ble into the role of psychotherapist, or choose implied that psychotherapists, in their child-
to become a psychotherapist for the financial hood, had been induced to rescue their de-
gains or for the enjoyment of sedentary living. pressed mother, and that this tendency to res-
He wanted to encourage us, his readers, to cue continued to be apparent in their choice of
search for our own answers so that we would profession and in their work as psychothera-
become more deeply involved in the pleasure pists. He made it clear, however, that no amount
and travail of a self-inquiry that . . . [could] last of rescuing would solve the fundamental prob-
a lifetime (p. 18, italics added). I, too, want to lem, that is, the loss of contact with mother. In
nudge you, and myself, to search for our own transactional analysis we are, of course, fami-
answers regarding why we choose to be psy- liar with the significance and consequence of
chotherapists. game playing (Graff, 1976; Lee, 1971) and spe-
This article has been written primarily with cifically the drama triangle position of Rescu-
transactional analysis psychotherapists in mind; er (Karpman, 1968). I also remember the trans-
however, much of its content is relevant to all actional analysis aphorisms that for every min-
helpers, facilitators, and consultants and there- ute we Rescue, we will spend a minute Perse-
fore to transactional analysts in all four fields cuting! (attributed in a workshop to Claude
(psychotherapy, education, organizations, and Steiner) and that the flip side of any Rescuer
counseling). is Victim (Collins, 1976). W e may also want

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WHY ARE WE PSYCHOTHERAPISTS?: THE NECESSITY OF HELP FOR THE HELPER

to consider the risk and consequences of having Struggles of reparation and defense around
(nonaware) symbiotic relationships with our early maternal identifications (p. 27)
clients (Schiff et al., 1975). Muted expression of masculine aggres-
Similarly, Erskine (2001) drew our attention sion and assertiveness . . . with strong ad-
to the caretaker aspect of psychotherapists mixtures of maternally tinged nurturing
childhood experiences. He stressed how each and receptivity (p. 29)
of us is attracted to and remains in this profes- In the etiology of the healers bent, McLaughlin
sion based on our personal story: pointed to the relevance of parental loss/
Sometimes I discover in the mature thera- abandonment, maternal depression or domi-
pist with whom I am talking, a little boys nance, and maternal rejection that shames her
or girls commitment to treating a de- child. In particular, he emphasized the role of
pressed mother, saving an alcoholic father, maternal depression, which he said is known
or repairing his or her parents marriage. to motivate a child to become a psychotherapist
. . . These desperate childhood attempts to later in life (Greenson, 1960; Olinick, 1969)
make an impact on early family life often (p. 25).
affect how the therapist practices psycho- McLaughlin (2005) maintained that the ex-
therapy years later. (p. 134) tent of our healers bent reflects the extent to
I will use a personal experience as an exam- which we had to ward off our infantile aggres-
ple. My own mother was stressed, deeply un- sive destructiveness (pp. 20-21) toward our
happy, and distracted for the majority of her mother, or significant carer, who had failed to
life. Her mother died when she was four, fol- meet our vital needs for acceptance and recog-
lowing the birth of a younger sibling. My moth- nition. He emphasized the importance for chil-
er became intensely frightened of childbirth. As dren thus treated to make adjustments and
an Irish Catholic woman, she was expected to thereby to develop character traits that would
produce a male child. So, from the moment she assert their goodness and that would be pri-
realized I was a girl the second child and sec- marily of benefit to others rather than to them-
ond daughter and therefore felt she had to go selves.
through childbirth again, I believe a very par- I also want to acknowledge here the work of
ticular dynamic was set up between us. I clearly Green, which although not specifically about
remember the moment, in my own therapy, the psychology of psychotherapists, may be
when I realized I had been attempting to cure illuminating in terms of the psychological con-
my mother through my client work. If only I sequences of having a depressed or abandoning
could make my mother (or clients) happy, mother. In his book The D ead Mother Syn-
everything would be all right! I was deeply im- drome, Green (1986/2005) described the moth-
pacted by this important realization; for several er who is or suddenly becomes depressed. The
months I seriously considered whether I wanted reasons for the mothers depression can be mani-
to continue as a psychotherapist and, if so, how fold. The principal causes are the loss of some-
I wanted to work with clients from then on. one dear to the mother (e.g., a child, the most
McLaughlin (2005) talked about the other serious; a parent; a close friend; etc.), or it can
patient in the room (p. 20), that is, the psycho- be triggered by other types of losses (e.g., a
therapist. He suggested that psychotherapists change of fortune, a liaison of the father who
tend to have altruistic character traits that de- neglects the mother, etc.). The mother is still
termine their overriding inclination to heal there physically, but her interest in her infant
rather than to harm. He noticed a cluster of lessens, her heart is not in it (p. 151). For the
character traits, in psychoanalytic trainees, that infant, the sudden detachment by mother is ex-
he called the healers bent. These include: perienced as a catastrophe, for without warn-
A willingness to dampen ones own sexu- ing, love has been lost at one blow (p.150).
al thrust and narcissistic claims for reward Green described this loss as a premature disil-
and recognition, so that others might be lusionment that is experienced at a narcissistic
enhanced (p. 27) level. He highlighted an important paradox:

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ANN HEATHCOTE

The mother is in mourning, dead, she is lost to patterns (e.g., obsessional or masochistic traits). It
the subject, but at least, however afflicted she is also worth noting that none of these theorists
may be, she is there. Dead and present but pres- have mentioned fathers and their influence in
ent nonetheless. The subject can take care of the psychology of their offspring. This is clear-
her, attempt to awaken her, to cure her (p. 164). ly a significant gap in the literature concerning
Green (1986/2005) suggested that the long- the etiology of the choice of psychotherapy as
term consequences for the child of the mothers a career.
depression are structural, emotional, and be-
havioral. Structurally, the infants ego . . . has The Implications for the Support W e Need
a hole in it from now on (p. 153). In transac- in Our W ork as Psychotherapists
tional analysis, we might think of this hole in The implications of the work of Greenson,
the ego as an excluded (or absent) Parent ego Olinick, Erskine, McLaughlin, and Green, and
state (see Heathcote, 2006; Lederer, 1996, their findings and interpretations, point toward
1997). Emotionally, Green suggested that these early adjustments and adaptations (i.e., bend-
clients have depressive traits that go beyond ing, McLaughlin, 2005) and early disturbance
the normal depressive reaction that periodically that needs attending to, especially if we wish as
affects everyone (p. 143). Behaviorally, this psychotherapists to offer safe, in-depth work to
hole in the ego reveals itself on the level of our clients. Of course, these early adjustments
fantasy, through artistic creativity, or on the and adaptations are probably also what draw us
level of knowledge, through intellectualization. to and make us suited to our work as psycho-
Green added that despite these sublimatory ac- therapists and to being able to offer other hu-
tivities, such clients remain vulnerable in the man beings true understanding and empathy.
arena of loving and being loved. The lesson of W hat kind of attending to do we need?
the dead mother is that we must mourn her Many writers and theorists in the psychothera-
and work through our loss (OHearne, 1981). py field emphasize the importance of ongoing
Assuming these authors are correct that personal psychotherapy, supervision, and train-
psychotherapists tend to have experienced par- ing for practitioners. For example, McLaughlin
ental loss/abandonment or maternal depression (2005) discussed the significance of what he
or rejection I believe it is important to work called dumb spots, blind spots, and hard
through what drives us to be psychotherapists, spots in the psychotherapist. Dumb spots refer
to grieve for the loss of relationship with our to what we do not yet know, that is, true cog-
mother and/or father, so that we do not use our nitive and experiential gaps (p. 75). Blind
clients to meet our needs for reparation or Res- spots are the adjustments and adaptations we
cue them in an attempt to cure our parent/s. made in our early life and that limit our ability
By working through our narcissistic vulnera- to be fully open to our clients. Hard spots refer
bilities and/or depressive traits, and through to what we were taught and theoretically cher-
owning all parts of ourselves and our person- ished (p. 75) but that limit our ability to per-
alities, not just our goodness, we have a ceive new information and learnings. Being
fighting chance of learning to live and love aware that we have dumb, blind, and hard spots
fully and to assist our clients to do the same. can stimulate us to ask important questions:
Greenson, Olinick, Erskine, McLaughlin, W hat is it I dont yet know? How does my
and G reen (the latter more generally), each in early script/protocol impact my choice of ca-
their own way, focused on the effects on a psy- reer and work as a psychotherapist? W hy have
chotherapist of having a depressed/abandoning I chosen transactional analysis as my theory of
mother and the subsequent depressive and nar- choice? Such spots highlight our need as psy-
cissistic traits in psychotherapists, as well as chotherapists for self-reflection aided by ongo-
their need to Rescue (desire to cure moth- ing personal psychotherapy, supervision, and
er). Of course, not all therapists mothers will training.
have been depressed/abandoning, and many In their article on interpersonal relational im-
psychotherapists may have other personality passes, Cornell and Landaiche (2006) suggest

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WHY ARE WE PSYCHOTHERAPISTS?: THE NECESSITY OF HELP FOR THE HELPER

that the nature of the psychotherapeutic endea- Some experienced transactional analysts hold
vour is bound to affect us at levels that operate the view that supervision alone is sufficient
outside of consciousness and that inform our once they are qualified and advanced. I dis-
most fundamental patterns of relating (p. 197). agree and give examples here to support my be-
They emphasize the importance of supervision, lief that ongoing personal therapy is also neces-
training, and personal therapy to prevent the sary and should be a requirement for psycho-
work from becoming repetitive, superficial, therapy practitioners post qualification.
cognitively dominated, and ultimately ineffec- The importance and requirement of personal
tive or harmful (p. 197). therapy during psychotherapy training can help
Clarkson (1992) reviewed the tendency to- to inform us regarding our ongoing need for
ward burnout (the depletion of energy levels) personal therapy as qualified practitioners.
of those in the helping professions. She quoted Tudor (2008a) summed up the importance of
Maslach (1976, p. 18), who defined burnout as personal therapy during training as follows:
the loss of concern for the people with whom Ongoing personal psychotherapy for the
one is working. Clarkson presented three dis- duration of training is generally viewed as
tinct racket systems (Erskine & Zalcman, 1979) providing a supportive framework within
relevant to various predispositions (personality which the trainee psychotherapist can re-
types) to burnout in the helping professions: flect on his or her own issues, which are
dedicated and committed, overcommitted and often evoked by the process of training it-
work enmeshed, and authoritarian and/or patroni- self and by working therapeutically with
zing. She concluded, It is, therefore, worth- clients, in the course of which he or she
while to continue to explore and to develop ways also learns about the process of critical
in which we and our clients can free ourselves self-reflection. Personal therapy also pro-
from script-bound working patterns in order to vides a space in which the trainee can ex-
develop more satisfying and authentically com- pand his or her own awareness and . . .
mitted professional lives (p. 158). develop empathy both for him or herself
Similarly, in her book Help for the Helper, and for others. This self-exploration leads
Rothschild (2006) focused on the inherent risks not only to greater understanding and sen-
involved in the interaction between therapist sitivity, but also to greater authenticity as
and client and emphasized the importance of a person and as a psychotherapist. (pp. 1,
therapist self-care. She wrote, All emotions 3)
are contagious (p. 9), both the pleasant and Similarly, in his qualitative study, Murphy
the unpleasant ones, which means that we can (2005) identified four ways in which personal
catch and be impacted by our clients emo- therapy is of use to trainee counselors: reflexi-
tions and equally they can catch and be im- vity, growth, authenticity, and prolongation.
pacted by ours. She suggested that many com- These four processes emphasize and include
mon difficulties therapists experience have the importance of awareness of ones own pro-
their roots in unconscious empathy gone awry, cess, experiential and phenomenological under-
including . . . unmanageable countertrans- standing of the therapeutic relationship and the
ference, projective identification, compassion process of change as a client, and an experi-
fatigue, vicarious traumatization, and burnout ence over time that is parallel to and equitable
(p. 11). Rothschild advised that the better we with the one we offer our clients. Both Tudor
take care of ourselves as professionals, the more and M urphy emphasize particular learning
we will be in a position to be truly empathic processes required in the education of psy-
and compassionate in ways useful to our clients. chotherapists. I would suggest that the develop-
ment of these important qualities and skills is
The Particular Necessity of Psychotherapy ongoing and not limited to the period of our
for Psychotherapists initial training.
Healer heal thyself. The dictates and requirements of profession-
(adapted from Luke 4:23) al psychotherapy bodies can also help inform

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ANN HEATHCOTE

us regarding the importance and necessity for and after training (as cited in Tudor, 2008b,
personal therapy following qualification. For p. 3, italics added).
example, in the European Association for Lifeincluding what happens in the therapy
Transactional Analysis (EATA) Training and room continues to unfold, presenting us with
Examination Handbook (European Association new and challenging situations to deal with on
for Transactional Analysis, 2008), the EATA a regular basis. It is important that we stay as
Professional Training Standards Committee clear as possible regarding which issues belong
recommends personal therapy in order to ex- with us, which belong with our clients, and
perience the application of transactional analy- which we have cocreated. Many experienced
sis and to ensure that the trainee can apply TA practitioners and theorists have emphasized the
from a largely script-free stance and without intricate and difficult nature of our work and
harmful behaviour (p. 6, Section 7.2.3.7). I therefore the need for ongoing personal psy-
suggest that applying transactional analysis chotherapy. I offer here a few examples.
from a largely script-free stance is also a pro- Petriglieri (2001) captured something of the
cess that requires our ongoing attention and experience of the anxiety and uncertainty we
commitment throughout the whole of our time often face in our work as therapists when he
as psychotherapists. EATAs recommendation wrote of his journey as a psychiatrist:
also makes clear that having personal therapy As I started seeing patients alone and put-
is one way of ensuring we do no harm and there- ting into practice some of that learning, I
fore a way of behaving ethically and ensuring could not but feel lost in my own fears. I
protection for our clients (see also Haimowitz was supposed to reassure, but who, or
& Haimowitz, 1976). what, was going to reassure me? Every
In addition, here in the United Kingdom, the session with a patient exposed me to un-
Institute of Transactional Analysis (ITA) (2008) certainty: Am I going to be able to help?
Code of Ethics and Requirements and Recom- W ill my tools be enough? Will I live up to
mendations for Professional Practice, Section the Hippocratic Oath of at least, do no
2 (Heading 6) states: Above All Do No Harm. harm? (p. 6)
. . . To maintain this Principle practitioners are Ongoing therapeutic support (in addition to
required to sustain competence through on- supervisory support) can help us to contain and
going professional development, supervision explore our own anxieties and uncertainties.
and personal therapy where necessary (p. 5, Hargaden and Sills (2002), in their work on
italics added). And Section 4 (Point 11) of The relational transactional analysis, suggest that if
ITA Requirements and Recommendations for we wish to facilitate our clients in-depth work
Professional Practice state: Valuing, Maintain- (e.g. deconfusion of the Child), then we need to
ing and Developing Skills and Competence as allow ourselves to be personally engaged, im-
a Practitioner (Certified or in Training). . . . pacted, and changed by the relational encoun-
Practitioners shall continue in regular ongoing ter. This requires our willingness to explore,
supervision, personal development, and con- experience, and, when appropriate, express our
tinuing education and accept responsibility for visceral, affective, cognitive, and behavioral re-
seeking their own psychotherapy as necessary sponses (i.e., countertransference) in a way that
(p. 11). This principle and requirement, respec- facilitates and deepens the work and experien-
tively, clearly emphasize the expectation that ces of our clients. Hargaden and Sills suggest
competence, as a practitioner, requires personal that this type of engagement and exploration
psychotherapy, as necessary, post qualification. requires the therapist to use her own self as
Furthermore, the HIPS Section of the UKCP a tool to understand her client (p. 198), and to
clearly states the requirement for personal ther- do this effectively she needs to have been through
apy post training and, in fact, emphasizes that a similar process of deconfusion herself so
this needs to be a continuous process: The that she is comfortable with her own primitive
Student must engage in a continuous process of ego states and feelings (p. 198). This level of
analysis and self-examination, before, during, deconfusion work usually necessitates many

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WHY ARE WE PSYCHOTHERAPISTS?: THE NECESSITY OF HELP FOR THE HELPER

years of in-depth and ongoing personal psycho- potato to a vulnerable recipient who en-
therapy. acts it by killing or getting killed. (p. 150)
Aron (2007) stresses that psychotherapeutic English concluded that a most important quali-
progress is based on both the psychotherapist fication for being a good therapist is to have
and client having to do personal work in reac- fearlessly examined ones own motivations for
tion to each other. He emphasizes that all the practicing therapy.
psychotherapists qualities can be important in
the therapeutic endeavor, not just those of the Conclusion
good object, if only we can be open, authentic As we walk side by side, you alone must
and non-defensive about processing these quali- learn to know your own feel of your feet.
ties for ourselves and together with our pa- (McLaughlin, 2005, p. 18)
tients (p. 102). I suggest that this nondefensive As psychotherapists, and especially psycho-
processing of all our qualities develops par- therapy trainees, we need to be supported and
ticularly through the support, awareness rais- encouraged to develop professional integrity
ing, and provocations we receive in ongoing regarding the need for ongoing personal and
personal psychotherapy. professional development, that is, to continue
W hat are the potential dangers of not pursu- our personal journey and self-inquiry for the
ing ongoing personal psychotherapy post quali- duration of our professional lives. I believe
fication? Leigh (2008) reminds us of Jungs what is needed is for trainers and supervisors to
phrase, the wounded healer, and his warning help trainees to develop their own understand-
that if the analysts wounds are not consciously ing regarding the importance and significance
known to him or her, then they could lead to a of commitment to their in-depth psychotherapy
grandiose sense of self in the healer and the journey. Experience suggests that as trainees
surfacing of the question of whose needs were develop this understanding, continued commit-
being served. Clarkson (as cited in Leigh, 2008, ment to their own growth and psychotherapy is
p. 13) stated, The concept of the wounded a natural outcome.
healer should provide no excuse for us as heal- I believe it is important to explore periodi-
ers to bleed all over our patients (Clarkson, cally our motivation for joining this profession
1994, p. 103). and to ask ourselves questions such as: W hy
On a particularly salutary and hopefully ex- have I chosen to become a psychotherapist? What
treme note, I also want to include here what is my healers bent (McLaughlin, 2005)? Is
Fanita English (1977) had to say regarding it possible to do my work from a nonbent
Harmful Therapists: Unfortunately there are position? And whether it is or not, do I still
therapists who meet the necessary attributes want to be a psychotherapist?
and skills of good therapists, but they have Once we fully appreciate the way we have
specific curses within themselves that have bent ourselves (McLaughlin, 2005), we may
not been cancelled out through their own thera- wish to review our choice of profession. At the
py or self-awareness (p. 150). English used very least, we can be mindful of our adaptation
the word curses as a synonym for malevolent and bentness and keep attending to our own
witch messages that have been internalized need for personal psychotherapy, training, and
from the Child ego state of a caretaker. She supervision, both for the benefit of our clients
continued: and for ourselves. I believe that it is vitally im-
Carriers of such curses sometimes be- portant that we are or become psychotherapists
come therapists partly to transmit the bur- from Adult choice rather than from a place of
den of their own curse to those patients Parental introject and/or Child compulsion.
whose own backgrounds make them candi- The more that Child and Parent influences on
dates for Episcripting (English, 1969). The our choice of profession are identified and inte-
therapists Child feels relieved from her- grated, the greater the possibility that we can
self implementing a curse (such as mur- offer an attuned, relational, skilled, and client-
der or suicide) by passing on the hot centered professional service.

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ANN HEATHCOTE

Ann Heathcote, B.Sc. (Hons.) Psych., Certi- for professional practice. Retrieved 29 November 2008
from http://www.ita.org.uk/modules/tinycontent/index.
fied Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy),
php?id=35 .
has a private psychotherapy practice in North Karpman, S. (1968). Fairy tales and script drama analysis.
West Manchester, United Kingdom, and also Transactional Analysis Bulletin, 7(26), 39-43.
manages The Worsley Centre for Psychothera- Lederer, A. (1996). The unwanted child. Transactional
py and Counselling. She is coeditor of the Trans- Analysis Journal, 26, 138-150.
Lederer, A. (1997). The unwanted childs narcissistic de-
actional Analysis Journal. She can be reached fense. Transactional Analysis Journal, 27, 265-271.
at The Worsley Centre for Psychotherapy and Lee, R. H. (1971). The psychotherapist as rescuer. Trans-
Counselling, 50 Bridgewater Road, Walkden, actional Analysis Journal, 1(2), 28-31.
Worsley M28 3AE, United Kingdom; e-mail: Leigh, E. (2008). Can we be in the counsellors or psycho-
therapists chair when we have not been in the clients
annheathcote@theworsleycentre.co.uk . chair? ITA News, 38, 12-15.
Maslach, C. (1976). Burned-out. Human Behavior, 5(9),
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