Home  / 3025

Two Survivor Cases: Therapeutic Effect as Side Product of the Biographical Narrative Interview

Author(s)

Publication Name

Publication Date

Abstract

This paper draws a parallel between the biographical narrative life‐story interview technique and psychoanalytic therapy. It points out that this type of interview may, in some cases, assist with the re‐construction of a new narrative identity of the interviewee. Where there is practically no intervention by the interviewer it can do this just by providing the interviewee with a situation where there is someone who does not want anything other than to listen to her life narrative. Through this process there can be a therapeutic effect which is more than a joyful by‐product, which the interviewees not only unconsciously experience, but for which they overtly express their gratitude.

The paper features the case of such a woman, who was sterilised in Auschwitz. It also tells the story of a man where the interviewer experienced incredibly strong resistance and projective identification throughout the interview. This resulted in almost insoluble guilt in the interviewer. The paper tries to interpret the story of the interviewee, who is also a Shoah survivor, and is unable to make some things in his life story explicit. The interpretation suggests that he might have killed some Arrow Cross officers in order to take their uniforms to help others. He has lived for the last 60 years with feelings of insoluble guilt. The question is raised whether in this case the interview had a similar therapeutic effect to the first case or not.

Topics

Genre

Geographic Coverage

Original Language

Volume/Issue

21(1)

Page Number / Article Number

89-102

DOI

Link

Link to article (paywalled), Two Survivor Cases: Therapeutic Effect as Side Product of the Biographical Narrative Interview

Bibliographic Information

Vajda, Júlia Two Survivor Cases: Therapeutic Effect as Side Product of the Biographical Narrative Interview. Journal of Social Work Practice. 2007: 89-102.  https://archive.jpr.org.uk/10.1080/02650530601173664