ABSTRACT
To say that the therapeutic relationship should not be exploitative appears to be such an obvious statement that it shouldn’t really need to be said. However, it clearly does need to be stated as exploitation of all kinds happens in and out of awareness by both well-intentioned therapists and manipulative exploiters. Any movement the therapist makes away from the dialogue being in the service of the client towards being in the service of the therapist can potentially be a form of exploitation. That is not to say that the therapist cannot receive confirmation and experience inclusion with the client but this should be as a by-product of the dialogic relationship. Acknowledging one’s potential to exploit can reduce the risk of exploitation being enacted. A phenomenological-dialogic approach such as gestalt is marked by intimacy with the potential for the client to feel attuned to and understood. Hence, such a relationship provides the maximum opportunity for the healing of past relational ruptures.
