Step Five Professional Help
  1. What is your therapist's response to the question of responsibility for the abuse? How do you feel about this response? Is it helpful or not? Tell him/her what you feel and discuss what you need from him/her in this regard.
  2. Some therapists encourage their clients to use the "empty chair" technique to talk back to their parents/abusers. After years of keeping your feelings and thoughts to yourself, this can be extremely empowering. However, this technique can also stir up old feelings of being disobedient and fears of being abused again. If the latter is your experience, explore what your resistance is to addressing your parents/abusers in this safe, controlled way.
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Survivor to Thriver, Page 75
© 2007 THE MORRIS CENTER, Revised 11/06