ABSTRACT
Working with children who have suffered losses as severe as Victor’s is a task of great magnitude and strong emotions. The psychotherapist is in her professional role, but she is also a fellow human being who feels an intense empathy with the child and everyone around him. In therapy she shares the pain and the grief with the child, while at the same time she must not let herself become overwhelmed by the family’s tragedy. If she becomes too closely and deeply involved, the potential space that is necessary between the child and herself will be lost. The therapist thus becomes unable to provide professional help, since it is within this space that she needs to work to find new avenues of possibility for the child.
