ABSTRACT
Someone who was abused in childhood is likely to have had experiences convincing her that others do not want to know about what happened to her. She may have tried to tell various people, only to be met with disbelief, incomprehension, outrage, or "deafness". The therapist may be struggling with emotions of sadness, horror, anger, helplessness, disgust at being in a "voyeuristic" situation, and so on; her desire not to have to hear any more will be picked up by the client, and interpreted in the light of her own fears. It is therefore crucial that the therapist should signal her willingness to hear as much as the client considers to be relevant, in order not to block the narration of significant experiences. The therapist needs to maintain the sort of open and respectful attitude that can accept the client's judgement, while continuing to indicate a willingness to hear more, if the client judges this to be relevant.
