Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Responsibility

I struggle with an issue in the trauma realm. Most of the clients I work with fit in the "victim" category. Many victims struggle with "learned helplessness." On top of that they experience intrusive symptoms that result in avoidant behaviors. Some of them experience so much emotional, physical, and mental pain that they can become nearly incapacitated (that is an overgeneralized statement, but I used it for discussion only). Many of them begin to "become" their disorder or symptoms, thus completing their journey to learned helplessness. Once they get to that point it seems that their accountability and responsibility is out the window. When does pain resolution in trauma work and responsibility meet?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

sometime the progress is so small that even the therapist or even the person can't notice it. But if you compare it over a large amount of time, you probably can find that there is great progress. Sometimes a person cannot progress without knowing the true nature of their problem. Then they can study it out and learn from others how they can improve. Back in the old days I thought I came from "goodly parents". I really did. Now, I know better. It has taken me so many year to find out that I was the victim and not the worst person in the world. Victims usually think they are responsible for it. That is the greatest obstactle to overcome and to learn and accept. jomama