ABSTRACT
The terms shrinks and headshrinking are sometimes used to refer to psychotherapists and psychotherapy. These slang appellations may be applied casually in an effort to appear cute or clever, without any intended deeper meaning. More careful examination, however, may indicate certain (perhaps unconscious) attitudes or expectations that have implications for the conduct of therapy. My purpose here is to call attention to some of these implications, especially as they pertain to the issue of the therapeutic alliance, and to suggest some ways of confronting and correcting misunderstandings when they appear lest they impede treatment progress. A related topic, some implications of the terms patient or client regarding issues of dependency and responsibility, have been discussed in Chapter 1.
