ABSTRACT
There was a moment with a client when I suddenly became aware that what I was saying could be understood to imply that I was above or beyond the everyday human struggles that she had been describing. My comment was seemingly innocuous, I simply said ‘That must have been really hard for you’ as she described a situation where she felt torn between the conflicting demands others were making of her. However, I recognised a flavour of superiority underlying the tone with which I delivered my supposedly empathic intervention. On hearing my own words in this way I was shocked, for I would not accept the suggestion that I consider myself to be free of the difficulties that others experience. To back up my view I would be able to cite examples of areas in my life that are at times problematic and unsatisfactory. Yet despite this knowledge of my own struggles, if I am to apply the honest self-reflection I would hope to see in others then I must accept that somewhere within my psyche lurks the belief that I am beyond such mundane matters. I must accept this because I heard my words as ‘other’ to how I perceive myself.
