Autoethnography in Therapy : Exploring Therapist Emotions in Work with Self Injury

This evocative autoethnography offers an intimate exploration of the emotional life of therapists working with clients who self-injure. Blending personal narrative with theory, it confronts the often-hidden world of therapeutic practice – fear, shame, anger, voyeuristic impulses, and a persistent undercurrent of existential anxiety.

This evocative autoethnography offers an intimate exploration of the emotional life of therapists working with clients who self-injure. Blending personal narrative with theory, it confronts the often-hidden world of therapeutic practice – fear, shame, anger, voyeuristic impulses, and a persistent undercurrent of existential anxiety. Through vivid storytelling, the author traces a journey shaped by moments of rupture, disorientation, and self-confrontation. Early encounters marked by perceived incompetence give way to deeper reflections on what it means to witness another’s pain while becoming implicated in it. The work reveals how therapeutic space can feel both connective and disjointed – mirroring the fractured, layered nature of inner experience itself. Engaging critically with existing literature, the book explores the limited attention given to therapists' lived, embodied, and ethically complex emotional responses. Written for counsellors, psychotherapists, trainees, researchers, and those who are experts by experience, and their families, this book does not offer resolution. Instead, it invites readers into a raw, reflective space - one that acknowledges the discomfort, uncertainty, and the pull to look closer.