Lise Bourbeau describes five basic types of these wounds in her work: rejection, abandonment, humiliation, betrayal, and injustice. Each of these wounds has its own specific structure and comes with typical defense strategies.

The impulse to help is rooted deep within us. It was born in times when the survival of one was inseparable from the survival of the whole. Helping was an instinct, a way to keep the tribe, the family, the community alive.