ABSTRACT
Melanie’s relationship with Grant was in itself healing. Her thoughtful care was the cure. Melanie was able to use her relationship with Grant to invite him to be known, to trust her, to stop using violence to be heard, and to get to the hard work of learning. When children sense that their self-worth is challenged or threatened, they become angry and may behave violently, just as Grant did. Many teachers, parents, and students are becoming more concerned with violence in schools and what they can do to address it. The Healing the Self approach explored in this book is based on the perhaps surprising finding that such anger and violence provide a temporary feeling of wholeness or a “replacement” for durable, authentic self-esteem. Anger, then, is an attempt by the mind to compensate for the lack of a fundamental sense of self-worth.
