Sociopolitical Enactments as Arenas of Mutual Vulnerability: Psychotherapeutic Experiences During the War Between Israel and Gaza in the Summer of 2014

Abstract

The understanding that sociopolitical, cultural, and socioeconomic spheres always play a part in psychotherapeutic endeavors forms a central aspect of the relational premise. Nevertheless, the literature rarely relates to psychotherapeutic interactions in which patient–therapist exchanges involve sociopolitical disputes or discussions. The main thesis of this paper suggests that the sociopolitical context in which the psychotherapeutic process takes place tend to serve as an arena of mutual vulnerability (Aron & Starr, 2013) between patient and therapist out of which Sociopolitical Enactments characterized by a curative potential tend to emerge, especially during times of war and horror. Two very different Sociopolitical Enactments that took place with patients in Tel Aviv during the war between Israel and Gaza in August 2014 are presented, followed by a literature review and conceptualization of Sociopolitical Enactments as arenas of mutual vulnerability that explicitly or implicitly facilitate working through processes of traumatic self-states, challenge binaries, and open up ways for inquiring power relations in the therapeutic alliance and beyond.

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Notes on contributors

Sharon Ziv-Beiman

Sharon Ziv-Beiman, Ph.D., is a Clinical Psychologist, Faculty at the School of Behavioral Sciences, The Academic College of Tel Aviv –Yaffo, and Co-Manager “Siach Group—An Institute for Relational Psychotherapy,” Tel Aviv, Israel.