The pair of therapists — one Swedish, one Canadian, and both sporting shocks of white hair — met for the first time several years ago in a Stockholm café, at the suggestion of a mutual acquaintance. Allan Wade, who runs a family practice on Vancouver Island and has a particular interest in victim resistance and responses, was extremely curious to hear his Swedish counterpart’s thoughts on Stockholm Syndrome. After a while, it was clear there was more to be said. They headed across the alley to Kristin Enmark’s office for a wide-ranging, three-hour conversation.
But Enmark wasn’t speaking in her capacity as a couples therapist. She was speaking instead as a hostage in the 1973 Swedish bank heist ordeal that sparked the term “Stockholm Syndrome” in the first place – an ordeal marking its 50th anniversary this week.
