Reconciliation and the Therapeutic Impulse: What Does It Mean to “Heal”?

Healing is widely seen as an essential component of socio-political reconciliation, helping to promote a more peaceable future after violent conflict. At the same time, however, little is known about what exactly “healing” means to traumatized people and whether particular reconciliation efforts do indeed constitute healing. Instead, social healing is described usually in metaphorical terms, compared to the way an individual body heals, for example. This biomedical language is explored and connected to medical ethics as a way to broach these difficult issues and come to a more systematic understanding of healing processes.