Facing the Empty Mirror

The articles in this book are the expression of different moments and experiences of a group of psychotherapists who, convened in 1994 by the Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos, began working with victims of political violence in Peru. The particular way in which the experiences are presented reflects the way each person approached them. We believe that this book carries within its pages points of encounter between concern and engagement, confusion and understanding, subjective world and objective world, pain and healing, harm and rehabilitation, thought and feeling, silence and dialogue, death and life. As characters on a stage whose backdrop is the political, the psychological and human rights — topics that came together at this special juncture. That is also why these pages contain points of divergence and unanswered questions. And yet we feel it is only by moving from question to question that we will follow the thread of what we seek. We invite you to walk with us, to look violence in the face, to think about it, to feel it, and to travel some of its painful paths, fearing it, without losing hope of confronting and overcoming it. (Excerpt from the preface).