Facing Invisible Dragons

Abstract

Experiences of interpersonal trauma are not uncommon in families where there is a child with a brain injury, as are escape mechanisms that are used for the purposes of fleeing from unbearable suffering and traumatic memories. Through the courageous path of Zhi Mian, there is an opportunity for siblings to resist the temptation to flee and to choose an alternate path toward perceiving identity and finding meaning. Zhi Mian, facing life courageously and authentically, expands the horizons of consciousness, and opens the way to receive what the “wounded” child may offer a family and to how “relationship” may be understood in various ways. This article was part of the authors’ submission for their presentation at the Second International Conference on Existential Psychology in Shanghai, China.