Morit Heitzler: Working with the Concept of Boundaries in Trauma Work

An Evening at Reading Therapies Group with Morit Heitzler

One of the most excruciating aspects of trauma is the invasion or collapse of boundaries, not just in the moment of trauma, but as lasting damage. Traumatised clients usually bring to therapy an ongoing background feeling of threat: both to physical and emotional survival and to their sense of identity. Not knowing where “I” end and the “Other” begins, creates chaos and confusion in the client's inner world, which echoes strongly in the therapeutic relationship. Therefore, most methods of trauma therapy are highly concerned with re-building and establishing safe, containing boundaries as the foundation of any therapeutic work.
However, is it really possible to by-pass the client’s embodied experience of shattered safety by introducing safe therapeutic boundaries? Can we, as therapists, contain the impact of trauma without engaging with chaos, confusion and vulnerability in the consulting room? This presentation will explore the paradoxical nature of boundaries and containment and their role in trauma therapy.