Being With Cyril Can Heideggerian language do justice to the experience of supporting a severely disabled individual?

Abstract

This paper offers an account of experiences felt when supporting a severely disabled individual. It discusses the dilemmas that these experiences raised and attempts to explain them using Heideggerian language: Is this individual a ‘Dasein’ or simply another entity, did this individual ‘leap ahead’ and open up the author’s possibilities of being? Key words Disability, being, existential, Heidegger, psychotherapy, leaping in, leaping ahead.