A Grammar Of Power In Psychotherapy

This book explores how social power differences influence the therapy partnership. It offers research and clinical examples to help therapists become aware of privilege, and take steps to address power-related issues in therapy.

"This book sheds light on how underlying patterns of societal power relations affect the patient-therapist dyad in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. It is an effort to understand, and ideally to reduce, clinical blindness in psychotherapy. The book systematically addresses unique therapeutic challenges in four different core therapeutic dyads of relative privilege: when therapist and patient share the same social privilege, when privilege favors the therapist, when privilege favors the patient, and when therapist and patient have a similar level of nonprivilege. It explores relevant clinical patterns and dynamics in each of the four core fields of relative privilege and will be helpful in the teaching of issues of diversity, cultural competency, social justice, and awareness of privilege. The book is divided into eight chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of the key concepts discussed in the book. Chapter two introduces readers to the complexities and inconsistencies of privilege and subordination, endeavoring to invite curiosity and self-reflection about one's own privileges and complexities. Each of the subsequent chapters explores, using vignettes, one square from the matrix: Chapter three describes similarity of privilege; Chapters four and five discusses privilege favoring the therapist and privilege favoring the patient; Chapter six explores the situation of similarity of nonprivilege. Chapter seven recounts a longer case that illustrates the complexity of fighting sexism and finding repair in political interpretation. Chapter eight presents a summary and integration of the ideas that have previously arisen with respect to the different relative power situations."--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Given that people who are distressed often choose to go for help in therapy, it is therapists' duty and responsibility to deconstruct practices and to be clear about the ethics, values and effects of the practices they use. This book is based on the values and ethics of justice and responsibility, to resist domination and totalising discourses.

Psychodynamic therapy is one of the most popular orientations practiced in the world today. It has a growing evidence base, is cost-effective, and may have unique mechanisms of clinical change. However, gaining competence in this approach generally requires extensive training and mastery of a large and complex literature. Integrating clinical theory and research findings, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Techniques provides comprehensive but practical guidance on the main interventions of contemporary psychodynamic practice. Early chapters describe the psychodynamic "stance" and illustrate effective means of identifying and understanding clinical problems. Later, the book describes how to question, clarify, confront, and interpret patient material as well as assess the clinical impacts of interventions. With these foundational tools in place, the book supplements the "classic" psychodynamic therapy techniques with six sets of supportive interventions helpful for lower-functioning patients or those in acute crisis. Complete with step-by-step instructions on how to prepare techniques as well as numerous clinical vignettes to illustrate their use in clinical settings, Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Techniques effectively demystifies this important approach to therapy and helps practitioners more effectively apply them to a wide range of patients and problems.

In this 10th Anniversary text, Thomas M. Skovholt and Len Jennings paint an elaborate portrait of expert or "master" therapists. The book contains extensive qualitative research from three doctoral dissertations and an additional research study conducted over a seven-year period on the sameten master therapists. This intensive research project on master therapists, those considered the "best of the best" by their colleagues, is the most extensive research on high-level functioning of mental health professionals ever done. Therapists and counselors can use the insights gained from thisbook as potential guidelines for use in their own professional development. Furthermore, training programs may adopt it in an effort to develop desirable characteristics in their trainees.Featuring a brand new Preface and Epilogue, this 10th Anniversary Edition of Master Therapists revisits a landmark text in the field of counseling and therapy.

Recent evidence has shown that the successful setting of goals brings about positive outcomes in psychological therapy. Goals help to focus and direct clients' and therapists' attention in therapeutic work. They also engender hope and help energise clients. No longer are clients victims of their circumstances, but through goal setting they become people who have the potential to act towards and achieve their desired futures. Through the discussing and setting of goals, clients develop a deeper insight into what it is that they really want in life: a crucial first step towards being able to get there. Recent policies in both child and adult mental health services have supported the use of goals in therapy. However, the differing cultures, histories, psychologies, and philosophical assumptions of each form of therapy has brought about varying attitudes and approaches to goal setting. Working with Goals in Counselling and Psychotherapy brings the attitudes of all the major therapeutic orientations together in one volume. With examples from cognitive behaviour therapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, interpersonal therapy, and systemic therapy Working with Goals in Counselling and Psychotherapy truly is the definitive guide for therapists seeking to work with goals in any of the psychological therapies.

First published in 2002, the landmark Psychotherapy Relationships That Work broke new ground by focusing renewed and corrective attention on the substantial research behind the crucial (but often overlooked) client-therapist relationship. This highly cited, widely adopted classic is now presented in two volumes: Evidence-based Therapist Contributions, edited by John C. Norcross and Michael J. Lambert; and Evidence-based Therapist Responsiveness, edited by John C. Norcross and Bruce E. Wampold. Each chapter in the two volumes features a specific therapist behavior that improves treatment outcome, or a transdiagnostic patient characteristic by which clinicians can effectively tailor psychotherapy. In addition to updates to existing chapters, the third edition features new chapters on the real relationship, emotional expression, immediacy, therapist self-disclosure, promoting treatment credibility, and adapting therapy to the patient's gender identity and sexual orientation. All chapters provide original meta-analyses, clinical examples, landmark studies, diversity considerations, training implications, and most importantly, research-infused therapeutic practices by distinguished contributors. Featuring expanded coverage and an enhanced practice focus, the third edition of the seminal Psychotherapy Relationships That Work offers a compelling synthesis of the best available research, clinical expertise, and patient characteristics in the tradition of evidence-based practice.