“Deconstructing the Wounded Healer” (DtWH) online workshop

It has been well established that those with emotional wounds are over-represented in the ranks of mental health professionals and that when properly managed, these wounds can be transformed into very real therapeutic gifts. The DtWH online workshop is aimed at clinicians with challenging emotional backgrounds who wish to optimise their effectiveness by exploring the possible impact, both positive and negative, of that background on their clinical practice.

The 20-hour workshop, facilitated over three consecutive Fridays, consists of content covering specific areas of the Wounded healer’s clinical identity, combined with an exploration by participants of how these may manifest in their professional practice as well as some limited pre-workshop preparation. The focus will be on practical application within a safe and confidential environment to support the group members' self-awareness & professional development.

For participant testimonials from the February 2024 Pilot, go to the Testimonials page.

Workshop content 

• Overview of the program & ground-rules: creating a safe space

• Apollonian healers, Wounded healers and Impaired healers: an overview

• Strengths and weaknesses of Wounded healers

• Group members’ family of origin influences (attachment styles, parenting styles and dysfunctional family roles) and their impact on clinical practice

• Co-dependency (parentification, rescuing, caretaking, enabling, enmeshment & dangers of disowned victimhood), counter-dependency and their impact on clinical practice

• The Karpman drama triangle dynamics (rescuer, victim and persecutor)

• Group members’ internal and external boundaries, including self-disclosure, projecting one’s background and solutions onto clients, client fragilisation and countertransference

• Group members’ relationship to specific emotions such as anxiety/fear, anger, shame, pain, vulnerability etc. and their impact on clinical practice

• Maladaptive clinician behaviours such as excessive merging (e.g.: oversharing, resisting healthy challenging/boundary setting & emotional enmeshment), excessive distancing (e.g.: intellectualising & emotional disengagement) and the dangers of spiritual by-pass

• Challenging client profiles: responding rather than reacting

• Being a Wounded healer in the workplace: self-disclose and risk stigmatisation or fly under the radar? 

• Integration: reflective summary by each member identifying impact of core wounding on their clinical performance, highlighting their strengths, weaknesses and growing edge 

Registrations for the 7, 14 and 21 June 2024 DtWH workshop close on 11:55pm Sunday 2 June with early bird pricing ending 11:55pm 5 May. To register, click here.

Organisational training & development

Dynamic, in-depth customised training is available for organisations needing professional development for its staff that requires specialised knowledge and/or skills in areas such as psycho-education, communication skills, ethics, organisational development, management, law and equal opportunity, among others. Michael is recognised as a top-tier educator whose focus is on creating safe, experiential and dynamic learning environments that promote engagement, wholistic learning, skill development and personal growth.  

Content recently developed and delivered for “1800 Respect” Telehealth counsellors included Complex-PTSD and Family Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (FDVSA), trauma bonding as well as transference and counter-transference dynamics as they relate to working with help-seekers with a concurrent Complex-PTSD & FDVSA presentation.

Customised Complex-PTSD and other clinical training available: expressions of interest invited.