My training analyst, Dr. Henry Krystal, who had survived five Nazi death camps, would often tell me in my training sessions, “Sometimes a good forgettery is better than a good memory.” We may live with imprints of events from our distant pasts that cause bitter pain and suffering that with existing resources are too overwhelming to speak of. They must be spoken around. Around versus of.
But often like a cosmic black hole, these suppressed, partially buried unresolved traumas suck the life force into them, severely limiting potential and quality of life.
When working with patients in psychotherapy who have experienced such severe and overwhelming childhood trauma, the ground must be carefully prepared to escort out the emotions, images, and thoughts which have been suppressed for decades and continue to haunt the mind and soul. These ghosts may never decide to appear before the minds of others but maybe quieted by visions of compassion, safety, forgiveness, and even love.
Read more at Psychology Today.
