Listening for historical truth: A relative discussion

The nature of historical truth is elusive, and how we listen to the client's personal account rests in large part with what we expect to hear. Objective truth, it is suggested, may be one effort to consensually reclaim the veridical efficacy of an originally subjective experience of transformation, and in this light an aspect of the work of Christopher Bollas is discussed. This paper explores the effects upon the understanding of a clinical process excerpt of selected theoretical frameworks and argues that, ultimately, biographical truth rests neither with the client nor the therapist, but rather, is created in the intersubjective space between them.