Autoethnography in Therapy

Autoethnography in Therapy offers a compelling, emotionally rich exploration of the inner experiences of therapists working with clients who self-injure. Through evocative narrative and critical reflection, Joanna Naxton brings to light the emotional labour of therapeutic work—fear, doubt, shame, burnout, and existential anxiety—drawing on her clinical practice, personal story, and doctoral research. This unique book blends humanistic and integrative counselling theory with autoethnographic method and creative expression, including original artwork, to examine how therapists’ emotional responses shape and are shaped by their work. Key themes include countertransference, projective identification, therapeutic rupture, and the ethical challenges of emotional proximity and detachment. The author’s candid reflections encourage a more open, compassionate understanding of what it means to be emotionally present in therapy. This is an essential resource for counselling and psychotherapy professionals, supervisors, and trainees, as well as educators and researchers in psychology, mental health, and qualitative research. It will particularly benefit those interested in autoethnographic inquiry, trauma work, reflective practice, and therapist well-being. By placing therapist emotions at the centre of inquiry, Autoethnography in Therapy expands how we think about therapeutic relationships, emotional resilience, and the mutual vulnerability at the heart of the healing process.