The Existential Psychotherapist in Conversation:Remaining Steadfast in an age of Babel 2/3

REMAINING STEADFAST IN AN AGE OF BABEL

Harriett Goldenberg, Mary MacCallum Sullivan              

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We recognise that it is part of the human condition to seek clarity and straightforward answers, but the challenge, particularly for those involved in the field of psychotherapy, is to acknowledge and embrace the reality that life, relationships, the world in general, is full of nuance and complexity, and very little simplicity. The danger of identity politics, for example, is precisely that people are pigeon holed, reduced; that discourse and discussion is hampered; that somehow, I am considered only able to engage with someone of my own ilk, whether that be to do with race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or class; that in order to engage with someone assumed to be different in one of these ways, one needs to be strengthened and to feel armed. Thus, the state of mind I bring with me is one of wariness, and potential hostility.

Where this has impacted the field of higher education and psychotherapy education, the risk is that the distinction between a ‘moral’ imperative to ‘stand with’ those who have suffered or are suffering wrongs and an equally moral professional obligation to ‘sit with’ such suffering may be lost. The aim of developing a capacity for different internal positions or attitudes to be considered, or for a co-created insight, for a self-reflective stance which might facilitate dialogue, has arguably been downplayed.

It is not surprising that psychotherapy training is impacted by the current zeitgeist. It is a challenge to resist such strong forces; therapy itself participates in deconstruction. And psychotherapy always exists within a particular moment of time and space. But psychotherapy provides an opportunity to observe and notice, as well as to consider and reflect upon the impact of the current context on the life and experience, of the particular person sitting in the client’s chair, to allow the freedom to experiment, to wonder and to imagine. Most importantly, psychotherapy provides a space for individuals to learn about themselves.  That has been the substance of the therapeutic endeavour since its beginnings. Therapy seeks to provide a rare opportunity to unpack and consider all of that, freely, safely…. the ultimate ‘safe space’, not through censorship and restriction, but through gentle holding of a boundaried environment that allows open, uncensored reflection and learning.

It takes strength of character and grounding in ethics to hold fast to the value of debate and dialogue, to the possibility of respecting another who has different views; to consider the evidence and present it coherently. It takes courage and skill to attempt to locate and recognise moments of meeting, commonality and shared understanding. We are all thrown into existence, we are not responsible for that, but we are responsible for what we make of our opportunities, and how we face our limitations.

© The authors, 2025

[1] The story of the Tower of Babel, (Gen 11:1 –9) ‘represented in symbolic terms the final disintegration of that order and unity which God had brought into existence in the primal act of creation’ (Hooke, S H, 1962). A modern perspective may find a parallel with the advent of postmodernism and its fracturing and fluidisation of agreed meaning in the languaging of our ‘identity politics’ and social interaction.