Posted by Daisym on June 18, 2011, at 0:43:57
In reply to Re: cooperative policy setting in therapy » pegasus, posted by Dinah on June 17, 2011, at 21:45:51
I'll be interested to hear more about this too. I'm of the opinion that the basic structure of therapy is indeed controlled by the therapist - for obvious practical reasons. Just like in my business, I have to know how many billable hours we must have in order to cover our costs and we also have liabiity issues to think about. Not to mention best practice guidelines.
That said, it does make sense that things that can be negotiated, are. Number of sessions per week, contact between sessions, etc.
And I suppose we need to look at it from the Therapist's viewpoint if we really want to see our power. We decide whether to show up or not - we decided how honest to be and we decide whether to find the therapist useful or follow through, etc. We can be difficult during sessions or we can be pleasant or somewhere in between.
But there is no question that there is a power imbalance, just like in most services. Otherwise, you would just be talking to a friend, more or less.
poster:Daisym
thread:988513
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20110511/msgs/988619.html