Can I Be Your Witness? Discussion of Cynthia Chalker’s Paper: Can I Get A Witness? On Being Seen and Heard in a Relational Psychoanalytic Treatment

Abstract

These comments center on two phrases repeated in Chalker’s paper. One is the poignant question “Can I get a witness?” The other phrase claims that difference alters understanding. Current relational literature on collective trauma and witnessing is reviewed, addressing Chalker’s question and clinical case.

Keywords:

• trauma
• witnessing
• pandemic
• otherness
• racism

This article is referred to by:

Can I Get A Witness?: On Being Seen and Heard in a Relational Psychoanalytic Treatment

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chana Ullman

Chana Ullman, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, a training psychoanalyst and faculty at the Tel Aviv Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis. She is faculty and supervisor at the relational track, the school of psychotherapy, Sackler school of medicine at Tel-Aviv University, and faculty at the doctoral program of psychoanalysis at Tel Aviv University. Dr. Ullman is past- president of the International Association of Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. She is the author of the book “The transformed self: The psychology of religious conversion” (Plenum press, 1989) and of numerous publications regarding witnessing, political context and the relational perspective on psychoanalytic process. She lives and practices in Rehovot, Israel.