Our Greatest Vulnerability in the Therapeutic Encounter

Abstract

The desire to heal, the fear of failing, and the question of whether to gratify our clients’ needs or requests intermingle in the space where the personal and the professional seamlessly coalesce. Our inside humanness is an unavoidable part of our outside professionalness, but it is in the area of our very humanness that as professionals we are most vulnerable. The aware, reflective, responsible, humane, professional clinician will be able to navigate the inevitable tension between inside humanness and outside professionalism. In this article, the authors explore these ideas using clinical material to highlight this complexity. They also offer possible ways to navigate the psychotherapy journey in a professional, humane way in which both client and psychotherapist are protected, not from their humanity but from their capacity to injure in the attempt to protect their human vulnerability.