As with his parents, he developed patterns of alternating closeness and hostility in his relationships. He found it difficult to accept his longing for affection and connection, which were denied to him as a child. Sadly, this is a common a story the details and situations may differ but many share similar dysfunctional childhoods.Īs an adult my client avoided his need for love and intimacy. He wanted to recover from the legacy of emotional rejection of his mother and the physical aggression of his father. It horrified him to see himself behaving like his father. My client sought help as he realised that the cycle of need, fear, anger and aggression was a destructive pattern in his relationships. These manifested as sporadic hostility, rage and occasional violence.
It took him a long time to manage to live with anyone as his internalised family dynamics kept repeating in his own relationships. To sum up, both his parents’ attitudes and behaviour caused him profound wounding, so much so it convinced him that he had to shield himself and avoid ever making himself vulnerable.Įxperiencing his world as one of neglect or anger and aggression, he escaped into sex, drugs, and partying. He could have gone to live with his father, who had previously provided him with some love and protection, but couldn’t as his father was given to fits of anger often accompanied by violence. She however was preoccupied with new relationships and scarcely gave him any of the care and maternal affection which he craved. When they divorced he stayed with his mother. His parents had a turbulent relationship which got increasingly fraught, angry and violent. This ‘client’ had a childhood shaped by a neglectful mother and a violent father. The examples given of therapeutic body-centred techniques and psychodrama processes were in fact used at different times with different individuals. The client in this case is fictional, in the sense that he is a composite character derived from several cases with a similar theme of anger issues.
A TREATMENT APPROACH WITH INSPIRIT WAY THERAPY