Læknablaðið - 01.06.1961, Page 50

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LÆKNABLAÐIÐ
buted a great deal. The family
financial situation had improv-
ed, her daughter had graduated
from college and married, her
psycliotic sister was in a reco-
very pliase, and slie had gotten
enough courage to break off
her relationship witli lier pre-
vious therapist. I mention tliis
example to indicate tliat even
witli alertness in looking for
assets we often do not see tliem,
and tliat the tenacity for life
and growth are often far greater
than we may give our patients
credit for.8)
Also ahout eleven years ago
I saw another woman in consid-
tation. I mention her because
of my main thesis regarding the
urge toward health and to again
exemplify human tenacity in
searching for help to find solu-
tions for human prohlems. I
also mention her because even
in the first, or first few sessions
we can test out the validity of
our conjectures regarding the
presence of such assets by a test
interpretation, and by noting
the response. She was 34 when
she consulted me.This was after
having woi’ked with nine dif-
ferent therapists over a period
of fifteen years. Her complaint
against all of them was that
they had not allowed her lo
express herself. By this she
meant tliey had not made it pos-
sible for her to come out witli
the full intensity of her feelings
of hostility. She also felt she
had not been helped. I saw this
was not the case because I was
the first therapist she had ever
consulted on her own. iAll the
otliers Iiad been cliosen for her.
For her to have made her own
choice and acted on it indicated
that some of her inertia, inde-
cisiveness and hlocks to assert
lier own wants had been work-
ed through. That she could
make clioices and act on them
was one asset, and the second
was tliat in spite of long trials
at therapy she clung tenaciously
to the liope of getting lielp and
was willing to try again at quite
a financial sacrifice. After she
had assured me several times
tliat I had not in any way block-
ed her from expressing her
feelings, I made this interpre-
tation. „Could it be that you
might liave a fear of lettingyour
feelings go and expressing
them?“ She flushed, became
tense and anxious. I saw force-
ful pulsations in her neck whicli
hecame very red and after a
few minutes she said, „Yes,“
that she was afraid of the vio-
lence of lier feelings. For lier
to accept sucli an idea indicated
to me tliat she had quite some
assets, namely to switch from
the attitude „what they didn’t
do,“ „it was llieir fault“ to „this
is my problem.“
She aecepted my recommen-
dation to work with one of my