title: Race, religion and a cat in the clinical hour.
abstract: Racial and religious identities are complex, often mired in dynamics of 'othering'. Such dynamics easily become a means of distancing the pain, fear and rage of intergenerational traumas, thus undermining ways race and religion can be powerful vehicles for the transference and countertransference. Drawing from a history of race in America as well as Jung's anxiety when meeting the stranger within himself, this paper focuses on 17 years of work between a black female patient and white female clinician (me). Together we encountered themes of hatred, silence, guilt and intimacy in the transference and countertransference, themes eventually symbolized by the presence of my cat which was locked into the bathroom for each session. This cat came to represent a bridge through developmental traumas and wounds of racism.
authors.affiliation: Houston, USA.
authors.forename: Gretchen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Heyer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D012069:Religion and Psychology
keywords: Angst; Gegenübertragung; Jung; Rasse; Religion; angoisse; ansia; ansiedad; anxiety; contratransferencia; contretransfert; countertransference; intergenerational trauma; intergenerationales Trauma; paca; peлигия; race; raza; razza; religion; religione; religión; transference; transferencia; transfert; transfert e controtransfert; trauma intergeneracional; trauma intergenerazionale; traumatisme intergénérationnel; Übertragung; Юнг; кoнтpпepeнoc; мeжкпoкoлeнчecкaя тpaвмa; пepeнoc; тpeвoгa; 代际创伤; 反移情; 宗教; 焦虑; 种族; 移情; 荣格