ABSTRACT
Location of self (LOS) falls under the umbrella terms self of the therapist. It emerged out of a framework of therapists committed to being collaborators in healing from oppression. Most often, the therapist initiates LOS in the form of a conversation in which s/he identifies to her clients a conglomeration of her or his identities racial, ethnic, marital, parental, class, sexual orientation, religious or spiritual status, and perhaps more. LOS is one element in the process of addressing issues of oppression and social location in therapy, and doing so from a position aligned with social justice. LOS with clients or families of European descent or Caucasians presents a different interface than LOS with families of color. LOS makes no demand of perfection, only a willingness to stand in the heat of ugly, painful legacies in us and others, to persist into skillfulness and its variations, and to take heart in authentic showing-up.
