I have a question. Those of you who feel the therapist has the power: Do you have a tendency to equate other relationships with issues of power? Do you have a tendency to give other people in your life your power? Do you often feel powerless in life in general?

I don't mean those questions to sound accusatory. I guess I ask them because as I was thinking about this, I realized that power (who has it and who doesn't) rarely enters my mind. In some cases it is because the power dynamic is obvious and sort of a given: employer/employee; law enforcement/citizen; big semi truck on the highway/compact car (okay, that one was being silly). Because those are accepted power dynamics, I don't give them much thought except to stay out of their way so I don't get squashed.

I don't put a therapist in that same category of natural (probably not the right word) power expectations. I seem them more in the same category as other professionals I work with: doctors, lawyers, clergy, fellow educational professionals, anyone I might hire or work with on a professional level who doesn't have the authority to fire me, order me around, etc. I work WITH these people in a variety of ways. I may ask for advice or use their services in some way. We may work together on projects or even learn from each other. But I essentially see them as just one of me. In fact, if one of these type of people tried to pull a power play on me, it would be a huge turn-off, I'd probably seek services elsewhere, try not to have to be put in the situation of having to deal with them on a regular basis if possible.

As I type this, I realize that some people would place a doctor or a lawyer in a much higher power dynamic because they view them as "the authority" rather than as a service. Is that what is going on at least in part if a client places the therapist in higher power than him/herself? Is it that they are giving away their power almost as a survival instinct because they have always felt powerless?

I'm rambling a bit. Just opening up ideas for discussion I guess.