Helga, part 2 - the exchange with Michelle...

sign of spring.

During the therapy with Brigit, Helga met her best friend Michelle, whom she hadn’t seen since Michelle left for Peru ten years earlier. Helga told Michelle about her therapy, but wasn’t free from the shock yet, so she wasn’t capable of telling her friend everything. She promised her to write her, but Michelle was in advance of her.

Michelle wrote that she didn’t want to loose the contact again. And since she hadn’t gotten a life-sign so far in the passed six months she wrote.

“When I went to Peru I missed you a lot. But I dived into my work and got used to not having a friend standing me as close as you did. I tried to maintain the contact with you, but your replies came seldom and were relatively brief. I couldn’t understand the reason to the distance between us. I assumed you had got hurt because of my departure or that you had closer friends now, and therefore I didn’t ask about the reason.

Not until now, when I saw you again after I had returned you told me that your therapist had held you from all people you loved and trusted. Although you have seen him through and have found Brigit you don’t seem to be entirely free from him. That was at least my impression.

I traced a relief in you that you had allowed yourself to escape from this charlatan, but at the same time it looked as if you didn’t dare to feel the whole amount of your anger and indignation. You were controlled and told those shocking facts with a calm voice, sometimes you even laughed, and my impression was that you partly have been untouched by these circumstances. You told me these facts as if you were far away from the person exposed to all this.”

A tip I got...

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Kirkengen writes about (three) Norwegian men in therapy, with a male therapist, who were sexually abused in their therapy by their male therapist... And how greatly they suffered after this. They weren't capable of saying no. And was fooled by their therapist to believe this was part of their recovery? (I don't remember the facts now and don't have the book here). They put their therapist to trial.

So it isn't only women whom are abused but also men.

But women are the greater part of those that gets abused, not only sexually, but in other ways too (not least emotionally)??? Are they more often met with disrespect too, or with more disrespect than men, even by professionals despite the professional is man OR woman? Yes, investigations has shown that men and women are treated differently by doctors for instance. Where men are treated better and have gotten better help, generally?

All should be treated equally! But why aren't we treating all alike?? From where does this come?

Kirkengen also writes about power-imbalances, and what power abuse means... See this review of Kirkengen's book "Inscribed bodies..."

Oh, how tired I am of everything!!! Think if I should disappear into work?? And book a journey, go away… Relax from everything… Draw a blanket over me… Over the head.