Type:	Journal Article
Title:	The place for judgement in postmodern clinical practice
Other Titles:	Psychotherapy in Australia
Authors:	Shaw, Elisabeth
Year:	2012
Citation:	No 1 Vol.: 19
Notes:	Current psychotherapy practice rejects the traditional modernist perspective of the therapist as an authoritative, paternalistic and oppressive figure who favours their own professional and personal truths as universal. In contrast, the therapist within a postmodernist discourse is cast as a collaborative, accepting and 'non-judgemental' figure who privileges the voice and experience of the client over their own. While many therapists would prefer to not make judgements, there are times when therapists are required by third parties to make active judgements of their clients through professional assessments, making a diagnosis, report writing, or through moral imperatives that demand a response to circumstances such as child abuse, domestic violence, or substance abuse. Elisabeth Shaw highlights the challenges for therapists in maintaining the therapeutic frame while meeting the need to recognise, embrace and utilise judgements of various sorts. She points to the value for therapists to engage consciously in their ongoing process of judgement, and to understand themselves and the therapeutic endeavour with this in view. Where collaboration and regulation have to exist side by side, the priority for better practice may be to strengthen and facilitate a more robust relational dialogue between client and therapist.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/17186
Physical description:	Pages 28
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

Items in ANROWS library are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.