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Abstract

The internal world of the clinical social worker looks very different when seen from the perspective of intrapsychic humanism, a comprehensive psychodynamic psychology (Pieper & Pieper, 1990). Adopting this view of development and treatment can remedy one of the most perplexing and pressing dilemmas facing even the most conscientious and dedicated mental health professional – the vulnerability to what Hiratsuku termed “compassion fatigue” (1991) — to feeling stuck with an unrewarding daily clinical experience. The following discussion offers social workers three guidelines that will transform their clinical experience and make it exciting and fulfilling: how to recognize clients' aversive reactions to pleasure; how to hear both the process and content meanings of a client's communications; and how to distinguish between the social worker's personal and caregiving motives. These principles will help all social workers, including those doing brief treatment, long-term treatment, school counseling, and traditional casework.

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The Privilege of Being a Therapist: A Fresh Perspective from Intrapsychic Humanism on Caregiving Intimacy and the Development of the Professional Self *

Abstract

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References