Connecting After Killing: An Exploration of the Intersubjective Space between Therapist and Client

Abstract

The devastation, chaos, and horror that characterize combat reveal aspects of the human condition that most individuals, and much of society, would rather remain unseen. And the reality of killing renders most individuals viscerally and existentially uncomfortable, and thus is often turned away from. Civilian psychotherapists are not immune to this. This article explores how civilian therapists’ subjectivities manifest in therapeutic work with service members who have killed or think they may have killed in combat. The experiences of previous generations of psychotherapists as well as findings from interviews with current-day clinicians point to significant ways in which the distressing and dissonant reverberations of killing in combat are manifest in the dyad between civilian therapists and service members.

KEYWORDS:

• combat trauma
• intersubjective psychotherapy
• veterans
• violence

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alicia Simoni

Alicia Simoni practices psychodynamically informed psychotherapy with children, adolescents, and adults in Atlanta, Georgia. She currently holds clinical positions at Heartwork Counseling Center as well as Jewish Family and Career Services. Alicia earned a master’s degree in social work from the Smith College School for Social Work in 2013. During her graduate studies, Alicia worked at the Atlanta VA Medical Center, providing trauma-focused treatment to veterans and active duty service members struggling with PTSD as a result of combat trauma and/or military sexual trauma. She also has considerable experience working individually and in groups with women and children impacted by domestic violence. Prior to pursuing a career in psychotherapy, Alicia spent nearly a decade working in the field of international peace building. She has a master’s degree in peace studies, has spent extensive time overseas working with women and men in communities ravaged by war and conflict, and has published several articles addressing gender dynamics in peace building.