In this workshop you will be invited to explore the dynamics of working therapeutically with perpetrators of violence, specifically domestic violence.

In this workshop we will explore the function of violence and aggression, including the elements of physis that might be lurking behind the destructive nature of violence.

The topic of violence can evoke a variety of reactions in the therapist, from curiosity and
empathy to fear and contempt. The therapist will often have to balance between two “ditches of empathy”. In one “ditch”, the violence becomes invisible, hiding behind the therapist’s sympathy for the client’s suffering. In the other “ditch”, the therapist’s moral outrage takes center stage, turning a blind eye to the client’s suffering.

Both “ditches” risk thwarting physis – the quest for healing and growth, and can at best cause no change, and at worst do harm. Exploring how to maintain the balance between the two “ditches” will be the focus of this workshop.

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Marit lives and works in Oslo, Norway where she is from. Marit lived in London from 1995 to 2015, starting out as a musician and teacher, before training to be a TA therapist at Metanoia Institute, moving back to Norway in 2015.

Marit has been working as a psychotherapist for more than 20 years. For the last 14 years she has been working mainly with perpetrators of violence, both in a prison setting and for the last 11 years, at Alternative to Violence. ATV is an organization in Norway providing therapy for people who use violence within their family.