| Hammond, Marian |
Freedom to fly: Reflections on a psychodrama group for women impacted by sexual abuse (PDF, 79.6 KB) |
Journal 33 December 2024 |
auxiliary, compassion, empathy, group therapy, healing process, perpetrator, sexual abuse, shame, shared experience, tele, trauma |
As I grew up I often heard my mother say, “A fellow feeling makes us wonderous kind”. This quote from the early 18th century English poet Alexander Pope underscores the power of empathy and how shared common experience and understanding produce a remarkable sense of kindness and compassion. With fellow feeling generated by shared experience and mutual tele, the understanding of the other’s feelings extends to include caring for the other’s well-being, usually expressed in a strong desire to be helpful companions to one another. For 25 years the Freedom to Fly Group has embodied this profound experience of spirit and solidarity. In this article I describe key aspects of the group and highlight what is unique about it. Case examples provide windows into the work in which the power of the ‘wonderous others’ can be seen in the healing of sexual abuse. |
6 |
2024-12 |
