Читать книгу Ethics in Psychotherapy and Counseling - Kenneth S. Pope - Страница 65

Power differential is inherent in psychotherapy. Although some approaches emphasize egalitarian ideals in which therapist and client are equal, such goals are viewed only within a narrowly limited context of the relationship. In truly equal relationships, in which there is no appreciable power differential, there is no designation of one member as “therapist” in relation to the other member, there is no fee charged by one member to the other for the relationship itself, there is no designation of the activity as “professional” (and falling within the scope of a professional liability policy), there is no license possessed by one member allowing initiation of a 72-hour hold on the other, and so on. A defining attribute of the professional is the recognition, understanding, and careful handling of the considerable power—and the personal responsibility for that power—inherent in the role. Regardless of how mutual, genuine, or egalitarian a therapist may choose to be, often utilizing humanistic, feminist (e.g., relational), multicultural orientations, some degree of power difference is unavoidable.