Être guérisseur, une histoire de famille ? Le « don de guérison » entre transmission et symbolisation

Abstract

Multiple so-called alternative care arrangements are organized by people who claim to have a gift of healing. A growing number of patients seeking care are moving towards these settings, which are increasingly present in the therapeutic landscape. In this article, we propose to explore the psychic dynamics underlying this gift in order to better understand its intrapsychic and intersubjective implications. For this purpose, the gift of healing is studied on the basis of research interviews conducted with five healers. The gift often emerges during childhood, in a family environment marked by the presence of secrets. Exceptional experiences following traumatic experiences accompany the development of the gift. This is illustrated by two clinical vignettes in which the gift is part of a work of symbolization of psychic suffering and can be read as an attempt to subjectivize transgenerational elements. The therapeutic potential of this gift is discussed in conclusion.