[This post appeared on my previous web site and this is an updated version.]
Recently, I again picked up Psychotherapy Grounded in the Feminine Principle by Barbara Stevens Sullivan. As I have said previously, this was one of the more influential books that I read while at Pacifica Graduate Institute about doing therapy, though in light of Sullivan’s message of embracing the practice of being noted below, saying so (“doing therapy”) is perhaps ironic. In addition to a wealth of other ideas, Stevens explores using the feminine-oriented (more receptive) practice of being with clients rather than the more masculine-oriented (more active) practice doing things with or to clients.
Along with being with clients, using a responsive and inviting approach, comes the idea that the role of the therapist is not to cure the client. The medical model that is the basis of a lot of therapy eduction is often focused on curing the patient.