THE THERAPIST AND DEATH – DEATH AND THE THERAPIST

The therapist and death paradigm represent the life of the dyad in therapy, the continuity of the process despite all the obstacles caused by resistance, hatred and various other defense mechanisms. Death and the therapist is the paradigm that we explore. Therapy makes changes in further life and separations. The relation of the therapist towards the role is the relation towards life. Patients are very sensitive to the health of their therapist and they carefully monitor all the changes. In the categories of life, the death of the therapist is a repetitive loss of an object, and a real traumatic experience. It is damaging for the patient. An ill therapist need not work, but must still remain alive in the inner world of the patient. It is the matter of the technique of therapy to prepare the patient to endure a new pain. Death and the therapist is the semantics of therapy. In therapy the patient also carefully follows the thanatical line while moving along the alliance. The patient might have the fear of being damaged by the therapist. Death is the only threat the patient waves in front of the therapist’s face like a flag of his or her personality, while handing over their fears. The therapist contains and in some way manages those fragments. Thanatically directed transfer produces in the therapist answers in countertransference making it possible for the therapist as a human being to offer the patient some sincere answers which have depth. Acta Medica Medianae 2017;56(1):56-63.