ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 presents and discusses the main principles for the psychotherapy of torture survivors. The idea of complex PTSD is reframed according to the Jungian theory of complexes and the dissociability of the psyche. It reveals a model of an embodied mind by virtue of a theory of affects intended precisely as representative of body states, in turn monitored by affect regulation. In therapy, attention is given to embodied affects, emotional regulation, safety, and bodily-based countertransference, which take on special meaning for interpersonal communication, with the relational way of “being with” and enactments indicated as the main therapeutic instruments. Much of the therapeutic work deals with the management and use of emotions like fear, anger, shame, and guilt, in which therapists unavoidably find themselves deeply involved, with their own “tolerance windows” and an ability to keep and play with interpersonal boundaries. This requires a lot of implicit work trying to decode the hidden meanings in these types of enactments and a slow and cautious approach to the core of the relational dilemmas, including careful and respectful consideration of issues of identity, politics, and culture for torture survivors.
