Book: The Dynamics of Power in Counselling & Psychotherapy – Gillian Proctor

By: Lucia Sarmiento Verano

What is this book about?

The potential workings of power and power dynamics within therapeutic work. Main topics explored:

• Definitions and main theories of Power
• How does Power affect therapeutic work?
• Why is this important?
• Power in different modalities (CBT, Psychodynamic, Person-centred)

What is radical/new/different about it?

Explicitly naming POWER in our profession, something many therapists and training courses shy away from! Linking theories from different fields (notably philosophy, sociology, in their structural and post-structural approaches) that have better understanding of power to our therapeutic practices. It invites every practitioner to have a closer look to their relationship with power and how it might affect their work.

Why you should read this book:

In my opinion, the greatest value of this book lies in that is provides:

• A clear link between social and political thinking with therapy.
• Accessibility in the writing: the author is able to explain quite complex theory about power in a way that is clear, concise and understandable even without having read the scholars they reference.
• Illustrations of how these dynamics look like in different therapeutic modalities.

This text is proof that it is possible to explain complex topics in ways that are accessible and, most importantly, applicable to a practice such as counselling and psychotherapy. In my opinion, this read is one of the key ones for any therapist wanting to develop an anti-oppressive approach.

I would highly recommend this book to any mental health practitioner, especially those working with people from marginalised backgrounds.

Limitations:

This book is heavy on the theory. Although it explains very well how this thinking on power applies to different therapeutic modalities, I would also highly advise anyone reading this to take their time. Pause after each section and reflect on how this applies to you and your relationship with power and work, and where do you need to go from there.

Have you read this text? If so, what did you think? Please share below.