ABSTRACT
Psychological vulnerability is part of being a psychotherapist. It inheres in the values, beliefs, and practices promulgated by the mental health professions. It is compounded by the nature of some practice contexts, life-cycle issues in the therapist’s life, sudden and unpredictable crises and events, and unique aspects of the therapist’s history, character, and emotional life. The cultural context of anxiety and litigiousness further compounds psychological vulnerability. The life-cycle issues of the therapist affect the particular kinds of psychological vulnerability she experiences. Therapists sometimes have unpredictable and public crises that are impossible to hide from their clients. One of the primary responses by therapists to today’s anxious and litigious atmosphere is denial. When denial, projection, and self-reassurance are punctured because the therapist or a close colleague is the subject of a complaint, the reaction is one of shock, indignation, fear, outrage, and often panic.
