A Grammar of Power in Psychotherapy: Exploring the Dynamics of Privilege

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.  Societal issues based in power and privilege inevitably enter the therapy room. In this book, Malin Fors offers an intersectional grammar to unmask the hidden dynamics. Integrating theory, research, and a wealth of clinical narratives, Fors explores four core situations: when therapist and patient have similar levels of social power, when either therapist or patient has more privilege relative to the other, and when therapist and patient have similar levels of nonprivilege. This fresh synthesis offers new language for understanding power dynamics in psychotherapy, counseling, and all treatment relationships. Clinical topics explored include voluntary and involuntary self-disclosure, visible and invisible similarities between patient and therapist, internalized oppression, and choosing whether or not to address privilege explicitly, among many others. Read more