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The Personal Is Political: Stories of Difference and Psychotherapy
Written by an eminent psychologist and psychotherapist, this book explores how therapists and counsellors can address the key issues of 'difference' in working with their clients. No matter how much the therapist knows, how knowledgeable they are or how expert they are, they all face the same dilemma – their clients are always unique, ever-changing, subjective beings.
By taking a pluralistic approach and interweaving theory with a range of clinical stories offering insights into specific issues, client populations and therapeutic contexts, this text will enable readers to develop context-sensitive practice. It will equally appeal to students, newly qualified counsellors and more experienced professionals looking to develop their practice, becoming the perfect companion for students and trainees in applied psychology, psychotherapy and counselling.
By taking a pluralistic approach and interweaving theory with a range of clinical stories offering insights into specific issues, client populations and therapeutic contexts, this text will enable readers to develop context-sensitive practice. It will equally appeal to students, newly qualified counsellors and more experienced professionals looking to develop their practice, becoming the perfect companion for students and trainees in applied psychology, psychotherapy and counselling.
177 pages, Paperback
Published January 3, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 3, 2025
It did not live up to my expectations in having in-depth discussions about politics showing up in therapy room. Overall, this book felt shallow and fell short in exemplifying what the author “preached.”
For a book that calls intersectionality an essential framework, clients’ identities are rarely disclosed except for the single label the author is using for each chapter. For example, the chapter on sexuality is one of the better chapters, but offers no acknowledgment of how a gay man’s experience varies by race, ability, religion, etc. While the client, Kenny, is characterized by his patterns of speech, work, and ideas of masculinity, we know basically no other important information about him. Without race mentioned, am I to assume Kenny is white as a default? (That can be indicative of my own biases AND the author’s biases.) The author notes society’s treatment of straight, cis, white men as the “default,” which others those with differing identities. Without acknowledging other aspects of Kenny’s identity, the author further reinforces the idea that straight, white, cis men are the default. Even though the author criticizes a colorblind approach, he writes without acknowledging intersectionality of his clients.
Other issues for me: I would have liked to see the author reflect more about how being different from the client showed up in the therapy room. It was only addressed with about three of the eight clients mentioned. Some clients projected onto the author like a blank slate, while some were acutely aware of the difference. Any acknowledgement either option was fairly shallow. The author’s approach was to not mention differences unless the client brought it up explicitly. However, I wonder how much went unsaid because it wasn’t addressed by the counselor. When you’re sitting across from your therapist who is the “default,” do clients feel obligated to present/perform/communicate a specific way because of the counselor’s whiteness or masculinity? How many client’s were unwilling to address these differences directly because of the clinician’s power and privileges (that the clients themselves lack?
I was looking for 3 things from this book: an in-depth exploration of how our political systems and the values of the dominant cultural group impact clients, best practices for addressing these topics in session, and information from the author about how counselors can reflect on their own cultural presentation in the therapy room. There were some good tidbits of information in each chapter, but overall, the book was simply as the subtitled stated, “stories of difference and psychotherapy.”
For a book that calls intersectionality an essential framework, clients’ identities are rarely disclosed except for the single label the author is using for each chapter. For example, the chapter on sexuality is one of the better chapters, but offers no acknowledgment of how a gay man’s experience varies by race, ability, religion, etc. While the client, Kenny, is characterized by his patterns of speech, work, and ideas of masculinity, we know basically no other important information about him. Without race mentioned, am I to assume Kenny is white as a default? (That can be indicative of my own biases AND the author’s biases.) The author notes society’s treatment of straight, cis, white men as the “default,” which others those with differing identities. Without acknowledging other aspects of Kenny’s identity, the author further reinforces the idea that straight, white, cis men are the default. Even though the author criticizes a colorblind approach, he writes without acknowledging intersectionality of his clients.
Other issues for me: I would have liked to see the author reflect more about how being different from the client showed up in the therapy room. It was only addressed with about three of the eight clients mentioned. Some clients projected onto the author like a blank slate, while some were acutely aware of the difference. Any acknowledgement either option was fairly shallow. The author’s approach was to not mention differences unless the client brought it up explicitly. However, I wonder how much went unsaid because it wasn’t addressed by the counselor. When you’re sitting across from your therapist who is the “default,” do clients feel obligated to present/perform/communicate a specific way because of the counselor’s whiteness or masculinity? How many client’s were unwilling to address these differences directly because of the clinician’s power and privileges (that the clients themselves lack?
I was looking for 3 things from this book: an in-depth exploration of how our political systems and the values of the dominant cultural group impact clients, best practices for addressing these topics in session, and information from the author about how counselors can reflect on their own cultural presentation in the therapy room. There were some good tidbits of information in each chapter, but overall, the book was simply as the subtitled stated, “stories of difference and psychotherapy.”
November 22, 2022
This is a brilliant book. Written across different intersections with different (fictional) clients forming the exploration of identity and ways of working, I found this incredibly interesting to read and would recommend to any counsellor
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews