Malignant Altruism

Many individuals including those in the helping professions choose to encounter and support suffering in others on a daily basis. In clinical practice, we often work with individuals who are extreme in their helping; those who have given so much of themselves that they are exhausted, depleted and alienated from their inner world. Developmental pathways to malignant altruism, a compulsive form of helping that grows uncontrollably and undermines both the helper and those they attempt to help, will be discussed. Religious and archetypal influences will be considered as well as growth toward healthy altruism.