Therapeutic Context and Process

Furthermore, there is a continued challenge among trainees who state that some supervisors express sentiments of reservation or hesitancy when trainees attempt to expand the therapeutic context and process by addressing the needs of their diverse clients in ways that may challenge the therapeutic status quo. These stories should be of great concern to the professional practice of psychology. More specifically, these fear-based responses situate our profes- sional licenses and reputations before our desire to make decisions on what is best, therapeutically and ethically, for our clients. Ultimately, a cultural framework (culture specific, feminist theory, liberation psychology, etc.) informs us that our power over another is limited and that to internalize one’s power over another is contraindicated in working in culturally appropriate ways. Our willingness as practitioners to embrace a more expanded under- standing of culture might actually help us put in perspective the power that we ascribe to our work and our own ability to “heal” others.