Far from the Tree - ASYNC Video
This was a powerful video. In all the stories, hearing the perspectives of the caregivers of the children and adult children in the film reminded me of how any therapeutic practice with minors composes the perspectives or influence (at the bare minimum) of their caregivers. It is not an isolated process to do clinical work with children and adolescents with or without some aspect of atypicality -- you are also working with families. It makes me curious to know if family therapy is considered a leading therapeutic technique working with atypical or neurodivergent children and adolescents, in addition to any other technique that may be considered beneficial to that individual.
The Therapeutic Process with Children with Learning Disorders (Palombo 2002)
The way empathy is described in this article as the therapist having emotional attunement to the client reminds me of what Tom was saying in our last class -- how when children and adolescents in the clinical space have an internalized or externalized disorder, or in Tom's example, melancholia, the desire to reassure them as a therapist will drive them away, not closer. Tom mentioned the importance of sitting with the client and allowing them to express all that they feel, which can be difficult, especially when as this article mentions, it is important for a therapist to attune their emotions to that of the client. I believe it takes a level of skill to be able to attune oneself to the client, without engaging in their own experience of countertransference, which may explain why some therapists would be hesitant to engage in a deeper level of empathy. What are important skills a therapist should have in their proverbial toolbox to be able to empathize with a client and sit with whatever emotion the client may be experiencing, and not fall into countertransference, or have one's mood be so affected that they find it difficult to carry out the therapeutic process?