Page 37 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 20
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Emo�onal Contagion sical frame, establish the environment needed
At the neurological level, the stage is set for the for the development of a therapeu�c rela�ons-
infant to replicate the feelings and a�tudes of hip. In �me, with the nurturing of this alliance,
the mother. A mother’s gaze goes beyond the a basic trust can begin to develop in the pa�ent
mere recogni�on of her infant. Mirror neurons that can promote the healing of years of
in the infant’s prefrontal cortex as well as other mistrust.
areas of its brain, are learning to mimic the
affec�ve tone of the mother’s gaze, and re- Emo�onal Contagion
spond through mimicry to the signals it is per- During this period of bourgeoning trust, pa�-
ceiving (Gallese, 2007, 2009). This bond is crea- ents most o�en will begin to iden�fy with the
ted outside of cogni�on, and is akin to an iden- therapist in a number of ways. Heinz Kohut re-
�fica�on with the mother’s intrinsic self. In la- ferred to this as a “twinship transference” (Ko-
ter years, emo�onal contagion will play a role in hut, 1968) during which the pa�ent will mimic
the child’s adop�on of parental feelings and specific choices or behaviors of the therapist.
a�tudes in a mul�tude of areas, including that Choosing clothing or music that the therapist
of faith. prefers, par�cipa�ng in sports that the thera-
pist likes, and a myriad of other behaviors, de-
In Psychotherapy monstra�ng a growing idealiza�on and iden�fi-
Needs ca�on with the therapist. This desire to be “li-
Pa�ents seeking help come to us pressed by ke” the therapist may feel fla�ering to the the-
their concerns, their emo�ons, and their sym- rapist, and is the ini�al stage of the pa�ent’s
ptoms. O�en, their capacity to trust has been a�empts to grow through modeling someone
derailed or has never been developed. As we they esteem highly.
enter into the therapeu�c rela�onship, it is es-
sen�al to understand that we can and will rep- Implica�ons for the Faith Journey
licate the early developmental milieu of the Most pa�ents who come to our prac�ce have a
person, with the hope of establishing basic knowledge that we are followers of Christ.
trust. Others may come seeking our specialized care
(psychoanaly�c psychotherapy) and have no in-
One might think of the therapist as both “envi- terest in our faith.
ronment-mother” and “object-mother.” The
a�uned therapist ensures that the physical We have iden�fied three types of pa�ents with
aspects of the counseling environment are sui- respect to Chris�an faith: 1) Those who ac�vely
ted to the needs of each pa�ent. This therapeu- follow Christ and yet have impediments in their
�c frame (3) consists of numerous accommoda- faith due to psychological issues, 2) Those who
�ons such as access to a lavatory, temperature once were exposed to faith and no longer fol-
of the room, cleanliness, and limited disrup�on low Christ, and 3) Those for whom Chris�anity
by noise. In so doing, the therapist communica- has never been a part of their life. With all
tes to the pa�ent a poignant experience of three types of pa�ents, reflec�ng the reliability
being present specifically for them. As “object- and trustworthiness of the Lord Jesus is our im-
mother”, the therapist is present in a variety of pera�ve, both for establishing basic trust in ge-
ways. They are on �me for appointments, have neral, and for opening the door to trust and
few absences, and promptly conclude each ses- faith in the One who the therapist reflects,
sion. They listen carefully with their full a�en�- whether this is explicitly stated or not.
on, and empathically respond to ensure that
the pa�ent is recognized deeply. As basic trust begins to become rooted, there
may be a period during which the pa�ent iden-
Basic Trust �fies with the therapist likes—such as going to
The therapist’s reliability and empathic a�une- church or reading a Bible. This is a first step of
ment, in combina�on with a�en�on to the phy- experiencing a oneness with the therapist that
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