Citation

Davies R. Br. J. Psychother. 2021; 37(1): 130-152.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/bjp.12604

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper presents a personal understanding of the work of two prominent writers, namely the English-Polish author Joseph Conrad and the psychotherapist Robert Hobson. I make particular reference to Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness as a work that decidedly influenced the thinking of Hobson. The allegoric themes evoked provide a landscape of rich contemplation, heavily laden with metaphor and allowing an exploration of suicide and loss. With this, I have attempted to make a statement on the impact that suicide has upon the therapist and, in doing so, provide some clinical and personal vignettes relating to my experience with suicide. I also provide an account of a deeply traumatized patient with dissociative identity disorder and chronic suicidal ideation. These reflections draw upon the language of Conrad and Hobson as suicide is considered both in a concrete literal sense and as an expansive non-linear metaphor. The term 'Conradian Horror' is given particular salience as evoking the dark and dismal vista of suicide and loss. © 2020 BPF and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Language: en

Keywords

adult; literature; human; language; homicide; suicide; child; drowning; infant; male; aged; case report; psychotherapy; suicidal ideation; depression; prevalence; schizophrenia; anxiety; psychosis; suicide attempt; risk assessment; posttraumatic stress disorder; personality disorder; clinical article; automutilation; mental health service; emotion; religion; grief; multiple personality; nightmare; fever; heart; apathy; scientific literature; psychotherapist; emotionality; transcranial magnetic stimulation; Article; vignette; thematic analysis; autobiographical memory; SUICIDE; noninvasive ventilation; morgue; CONRADIAN HORROR; darkness; GRIEF; HEART OF DARKNESS; JOSEPH CONRAD; LOSS AND HEART OF DARKNESS; ROBERT HOBSON; upper lip