I am a wounded healer: from personal pain to therapeutic tool

Human service professionals experience increased rates of trauma, yet discussion about their personal wounds is often viewed as taboo. Psychoanalytic theorist Carl Jung is credited with naming and popularizing the idea of the wounded healer. He believed that the shared wounds of both the clinician and the client propel therapy forward in an authentic, transformative way. The wounded healer paradigm offers both benefits and potential risks. Reflecting on my 18 years of clinical social work practice, I highlight five case examples that demonstrate my application of the wounded healer paradigm to my work with clients, and I offer recommendations for clinicians who are interested in using their wounds as a therapeutic tool.