The Shared Experience Of Illness

This insightful book explores the vital role of illness in therapy, highlighting how personal experiences can enhance care and understanding in the therapeutic relationship.

This groundbreaking volume illustrates the profound benefits that can arise when therapists recognize illness as an integral aspect of human psychology. In the narrative of every life and family, illness plays a significant role. Even for those who may not have faced serious illness directly, its influence permeates the lives of family and friends. Illness has the power to foster closeness through acts of caregiving while simultaneously creating distance through disability and death. Despite its importance, the topic of personal and family illness has often been overlooked in psychotherapy, as therapists typically concentrate on psychosocial aspects, leaving the biological concerns to other medical professionals.

In The Shared Experience of Illness, Susan H. McDaniel, Jeri Hepworth, and William J. Doherty invite therapists who engage with individuals and families dealing with chronic illness and disability to share clinical cases that exemplify their approach to medical family therapy. Contributors are encouraged to recount personal narratives about their encounters with illness and to reflect on how these experiences shape their therapeutic practices. Through vivid case studies addressing a variety of illnesses—ranging from cancer and infertility to schizophrenia and diabetes—this collection reveals how therapists' personal experiences of illness can enhance their care for clients.

Poignant and insightful, The Shared Experience of Illness deepens our understanding of the interplay between personal and professional realms, shedding light on the healing bonds that can be forged in therapy. The narratives presented in this volume provide a rich tapestry of experiences, emphasizing the significance of recognizing illness as a shared human experience that informs the therapeutic process.