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The 'wounded healer' was initially based on a Greek myth about Chiron, a skilled healer who was ailed by persistent suffering. To tend to this eternal physical and internal wound, it was essential to foster his gift of being able to heal others. Carl Jung then theorized that a wounded healer is a helper who uses their own difficult or painful life experiences to give them a good understanding of how to help others. He found it essential that a therapist have a pain of their own in order to help others. Theorizing that therapists are compelled to treat clients because they themselves are 'wounded'. The term was originally coined for medical professionals. It has now expanded to include anyone who uses their own experiences to help others overcome life challenges and trauma. Examples of these helpers who are not medical professionals can include; counsellors, teachers, and parents.

74% of counselling therapists have reported they have had a challenging life experience happen to them leading to this career choice. Only therapists who have overcome something themselves can seek to support others with the same. This can include medical, mental, emotional, or spiritual experiences.

For any therapist, it is essential to embrace the language of wounds and pain, in correlation with healing. The concept was introduced to give some reasoning as to why certain people join the healing profession and how their experiences affect how they can help. There are times that it is believed, that helping others with issues similar to what they have healed from is beneficial for them as well as it helps them deal with some of their own past.

Some main categories of potential wounds of people and healers include; abuse, childhood upbringing, family life as a child or as an adult, personal mental health of their own or others in their lives, social relationships, life-threatening experiences, and physical health of their own or others.

One of the greatest strengths for why this is an asset and not a detriment is that it can give hope to others who are suffering from similar wounds. Other tendencies and strengths of wounded healers include;

Good listeners
Empathize strongly with people's problems
Strong sense of purpose
Have helped others since they were young
Can approach challenges as an opportunity for growth. Very good at finding solutions
Accept people as they are today - can help them move beyond their current circumstances.
An exceptional ability to find calm within chaos or uncertainty
Often seek a lifetime of opportunities to learn, share and be ultimately helpful

There is always a risk that countertransference can happen. Counterference happens when the therapist projects some of their own unhealed conflicts onto the client. There is greater potential for this when the client has similar wounds to the healer.

What does this mean for you as a client? This can feel tricky to navigate, because therapists are mindful of what they choose to disclose about themselves. Will it help or hinder their practice and their clients? Some will be more open about challenges and life experiences to show what types of populations or issues they specialize in supporting. As a client, you have a right to ask questions. The therapist will decide how they will field it, and what they feel comfortable sharing within the therapeutic process.

The Wounded Healer