This article suggests another way of understanding the experience of the victim and the helper and the fantasy of omnipotence related to the 'magic touch' of parenting evoked by the interrelationship of helper - parent; victim - child. Understanding the experience of the encounter with the 'darkness in the face of abyss' may help to explain the powerful psychological effect on the helper, once they get in contact with the abyss and the dark. This in turn may be a partial explanation of compassion fatigue.
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