This work is based on the author’s personal and clinical experience, gained with adults with physical and mental disabilities, with parents of disabled children and through the work of analysis, supervision and training with specialized support teachers. The analysis of personal experiences that drive a teacher to train and carry out this particular professional activity represents a fundamental aspect of the formative and identity process of support teachers. In particular, according to a Jungian vision, being able to reflect deeply on the motivation related to this professional choice would allow the support teacher to be able to carry out his or her profession while also paying attention to his or her internal world and therefore to his or her psychophysical health. In this sense, being able to reflect on the consequences of such a complex and delicate choice could prevent forms of work-related stress, which we know are very common in all helping professions. Following an analytical orientation, the paper interprets the psycho-educational function of the support teacher in relation to the current historical and cultural context, correlating it with the events of the last century. In particular, it refers to the legacy of a gigantic and uncomfortable Shadow, represented by the Holocaust, the extermination of the disabled, gypsies, homosexuals and the Jewish people. The support teacher, according to this hypothesis, would unconsciously take on some profound aspects; by acting as a spokesperson for the disabled pupil, consciously or unconsciously, he or she offers himself or herself as a kind of link between the disabled pupil and the rest of the school world (other pupils, teachers...). If the support teacher had access to an awareness-raising process, he or she would presumably lead himself or herself and the community towards a step of psycho-social and cultural development with respect to disability and the concept of diversity in general.
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