Resurrection After Rape Community Group
Discussion, question-and-answer, general social support, and journal processing for progress-oriented rape survivors. No crisis, no damaging or triggering conflicts--this is for individuals who want to contribute to collective, cooperative action toward the goal of making actual PROGRESS through rape trauma. Much of this work is based on the book "Resurrection After...
Just something I have been reading about...
'Who is The Wounded Healer? Many articles and books have been written about 'The Wounded Healer.' It is the person who has gone through suffering, sometimes great, and as a result of that process has become a source of great wisdom, healing power and inspiration for others. In fact, the archetypal wounded healer undergoes a transformation as a result of their wound, their suffering and pain. They can actually transcend it, and successfully lead themselves to a path of service. It is as if the wound itself helps you drive yourself to an inner journey that becomes the transformation itself. One strips away the selfish, ego-based feeling of being all alone in our wound and expands to see others and how if one chooses a different role, one can help.'
'Maybe some of you have experiences either being a wounded healer or being helped by one.'???
'Who is The Wounded Healer? Many articles and books have been written about 'The Wounded Healer.' It is the person who has gone through suffering, sometimes great, and as a result of that process has become a source of great wisdom, healing power and inspiration for others. In fact, the archetypal wounded healer undergoes a transformation as a result of their wound, their suffering and pain. They can actually transcend it, and successfully lead themselves to a path of service. It is as if the wound itself helps you drive yourself to an inner journey that becomes the transformation itself. One strips away the selfish, ego-based feeling of being all alone in our wound and expands to see others and how if one chooses a different role, one can help.'
'Maybe some of you have experiences either being a wounded healer or being helped by one.'???
Interestingly in my counselling I always had the sense that for whatever reason my counsellor had had his own reasons for his years in the client chair and somehow tht helped.
I used to do admin work for a child protection team in Social Services, it wasn't hard to see that some of the social workers clearly had issues that they'd never dealt with adequately. (And combine that with my own unfinished business, sometimes the office did feel like a madhouse - I ended up having to leave and find another job!)
However I have also seen people go all the way throught the process of becoming counsellor and not even touched on thier own issues. I have done some work in the mental health field and have found some people there really difficult to work with because they bring so much of there own baggage.
from reading this I feel like the key is in the transformation but how does that happen? and why for some and not for others?
Maybe the key for some people is in simply being able to acknowledge where their 'broken' parts still are and learning to at least accept that fact? Rather than trying to impose their own personal goal of healing onto other people who might have slightly different needs.
If there's one thing that I did learn from my counselling training, it was that a lot of us did somehow end up arriving at the same place, even if we got there via slightly different 'routes' or thought processes.
I don't work with geriatrics much anymore, but I used to work with a lot of old folks who were unable to communicate because of strokes or other issues. My job with those folks is to help them regain whatever speech they can, or help them to develop alternative communication systems. I'm not embarrassed to admit that I'm exceptionally good at my job... I've had folks that regained speech tell me they thought I must be psychic because I was the only one who understood what they were trying to say when they couldn't talk. I think that because of the family I grew up in I'm just extremely attentive to the tiny nuances of nonverbal communication... I have supersonic hearing (truly, I do) but also supersonic LISTENING...
Now I mainly work with kids with the kinds of disabilities that they will never learn to speak (and many will never communicate at all). Its harder work, and a lot less immediate gratification... but I hope that I am bringing the same listening to my kids that I brought to my old folks...