The Analyist’s Vulnerability: A Book Review

The Analyst's Vulnerability by karen Maroda

This is the newest work from Relational psychoanalysis Karen Maroda, and is a must read for anyone in the field of therapy.  Though she is focusing on the work from an analytic perspective, it carries over to anyone in the role of therapist or counselor.  The focus of this book is about how we show up as therapists in the room.  The book explores many of the reasons that bring people to therapy, as well as what brings a therapist into this kind of work.  We all must examine why we wanted to pursue this work and career, beyond just wanting to help others.  

Beyond this, the book is diving into the vulnerability of the therapist, and how this helps us to find and locate our patients.  When we get lost in the work, it’s hard to find our way out of stalemates or stuck situations.  Through getting in touch with the parts of ourselves that we keep out of the room, we can start to find our way back to the patient, by exploring our own wounds and emotions as they arise both in and out of session.  And Maroda explores constructive ways of bringing our vulnerability into the therapeutic space and using countertransference disclosure in a disciplined manner for the growth and development of the patient.  

Ultimately, this book is about us hiding, and attempting to encourage us to be more brave and not hide behind a blank screen or an impersonal therapist persona.  It is a wonderful read, and can help you open up to new ways of thinning and relating.