Quote:
Originally Posted by BudFox
I think what the thread shows is that there are widely varying experiences of the inherent power imbalance, varying intensities, and also many different ways of managing it. I would still maintain that the imbalance is there from the get go.
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Yes, if you already have an answer to the question asked, are bound and determined it's the right answer, and will slot every answer another participant gives into your answer, it would seem that way. If you don't think that way, the diversity of answers would suggest that each therapist-client relationship is unique and that no theory can really fit them all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BudFox
Here's a quote from an expert on the topic:
"Patient-therapist relationships are tilted toward the power of the therapist because of the structure of the relationship: patients bring the most vulnerable facets of self to their therapists' strongest aspects." -- Sue Ellkind PhD
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Uh...first of all she says TILTED, not "is." She allows for more possible experiences and answers than you do. Our poll is certainly tilted towards one answer to the question, if you count just the "client" and "therapist" responses. That doesn't mean that those who chose "client" are wrong about, again, their own experiences.
The rest of the book you took the quote from is actually about impasses and ruptures in therapeutic relationships, not merely the question of power in the relationship. There's talk about how each therapist-patient relationship is unique, and talk about how clients have power but surrender it to the therapist (and this can cause problems). And there's talk about client power over the therapist too.