ABSTRACT
Power is a critical concept in making sense of how relationships work (Adams, 2008, p. 105), with the denition of power traditionally emphasizing relational in±uence and control (Lyness, Haddock, & Zimmerman, 2003). Within the realm of couple and family therapy, the guiding theoretical orientations that have focused on power have been feminist family therapy (Goodrich, Rampage, Ellman, & Halstead, 1988; Luepnitz, 1988; McGoldrick, Anderson, & Walsh, 1989; Walters, Carter, Papp, & Silverstein, 1988) and narrative family therapy (Freedman & Combs, 1996; Freedman, Epston, & Lobovits, 1997; White & Epston, 1990). Feminist family therapy advocates strongly critiqued the eld of marriage and family therapy for not taking into account the in±uence and impact of power within systems, and specically its impact on women (e.g., Goodrich et al., 1988; Luepnitz, 1988; McGoldrick et al., 1989; Walters et al., 1988). Narrative family therapists have taken a di¥erent route, one that o¥ers a theoretical model to incorporate the exploration of power and the in±uence that such power has had on an individual or system (Freedman & Combs, 1996).
