Relational Field Therapy
Case Archetypes in RFT
The Five Most Common Client Profiles
(each with three hashtags at the end, as requested)
RFT clients come from many backgrounds, but the pattern of their suffering is remarkably consistent.
Because the wound is communal and the misattribution is structural, people tend to arrive in therapy carrying similar distortions — even if their stories look different on the surface.
These archetypes are not diagnoses.
They are field‑positions — the roles people get pushed into when a community refuses to hold its own rupture.
Here are the five most common RFT client profiles.
1. The Signal Bearer
The one who feels the rupture first
This client is highly sensitive, perceptive, intuitive, and field‑attuned.
They detect distortion before anyone else notices it — in families, workplaces, friendships, institutions.
Because they sense the rupture early, they are often:
- dismissed
- mocked
- pathologized
- told they’re “overreacting”
- pressured to “act normal”
The community uses them as an early‑warning system while simultaneously blaming them for the alarm.
Their suffering comes from being accurate in a field that prefers denial.
Hashtags: #SignalBearer #FieldSensitive #TruthDetector
2. The Scapegoated Divergent
The one who carries the wound because they don’t fit the script
This client is divergent in some way:
- neurodivergent
- queer
- artistic
- culturally mixed
- emotionally expressive
- intellectually intense
Their difference becomes the community’s excuse to offload its unresolved wounds onto them.
They are told:
- “You’re too much.”
- “You’re the problem.”
- “Why can’t you just act normal?”
Their suffering comes from being the container for the field’s discomfort.
Hashtags: #ScapegoatedDivergent #NotTheProblem #CulturalMisfit
3. The Over‑Responsible One
The one who tries to fix what isn’t theirs
This client grew up in a field where:
- adults collapsed
- systems failed
- boundaries didn’t exist
- emotional labor was demanded
- silence was rewarded
They learned to carry:
- the family’s pain
- the group’s tension
- the institution’s failures
- the unspoken obligations
They mistake responsibility for identity.
Their suffering comes from carrying the weight of the field as if it were their job.
Hashtags: #OverResponsible #EmotionalLabor #InheritedBurden
4. The Collapsed Truth‑Teller
The one who spoke the rupture and paid the price
This client tried to name the wound — and the field punished them for it.
They may have:
- confronted injustice
- named abuse
- exposed hypocrisy
- challenged denial
- refused silence
The community responded with:
- exile
- ridicule
- minimization
- character assassination
- “Why can’t you just let it go?”
Their suffering comes from telling the truth in a field that wasn’t ready to hear it.
Hashtags: #TruthTeller #FieldPushback #PunishedForHonesty
5. The Haunted Healer
The one who absorbs the wound because they can’t stand to see others hurt
This client is deeply empathetic, relationally attuned, and often in caregiving roles.
They step into the rupture because:
- they can feel others’ pain
- they want to protect the vulnerable
- they can’t tolerate injustice
- they sense the field collapsing
But without boundaries, they absorb the wound instead of witnessing it.
Their suffering comes from confusing compassion with containment.
Hashtags: #HauntedHealer #EmpathicOverload #CompassionWithoutBoundaries
Why These Archetypes Matter
These profiles help the RFT therapist:
- identify misattribution patterns
- understand the client’s field‑position
- locate the communal wound
- predict reenactment dynamics
- tailor boundary‑repair work
- support identity reclamation
They also help clients understand:
- “I’m not alone.”
- “This is a pattern, not a personal flaw.”
- “This is how the field shaped me.”
- “This is why I collapsed.”
- “This is how I can reclaim myself.”
If you want, I can continue with the next chapter:
“RFT Case Studies: How Each Archetype Moves Through the Framework.”
Survivor Literacy 
What do you think?