Includes bibliographical references and index.

Prologue -- Our blind spots in therapy -- Dynamics of power and privilege -- Similarity of privilege -- Privilege favoring the therapist -- Privilege favoring the patient : confused subordination in therapy -- Similarity of nonprivilege -- Distortions in the matrix of relative privilege -- Afterword : the unthought known -- Appendix: Suggested themes for further reflection -- References -- Index.

"This book sheds light on how underlying patterns of societal power relations affect the patient-therapist dyad in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. It is an effort to understand, and ideally to reduce, clinical blindness in psychotherapy. The book systematically addresses unique therapeutic challenges in four different core therapeutic dyads of relative privilege: when therapist and patient share the same social privilege, when privilege favors the therapist, when privilege favors the patient, and when therapist and patient have a similar level of nonprivilege. It explores relevant clinical patterns and dynamics in each of the four core fields of relative privilege and will be helpful in the teaching of issues of diversity, cultural competency, social justice, and awareness of privilege. The book is divided into eight chapters. The first chapter provides an overview of the key concepts discussed in the book. Chapter two introduces readers to the complexities and inconsistencies of privilege and subordination, endeavoring to invite curiosity and self-reflection about one's own privileges and complexities. Each of the subsequent chapters explores, using vignettes, one square from the matrix: Chapter three describes similarity of privilege; Chapters four and five discusses privilege favoring the therapist and privilege favoring the patient; Chapter six explores the situation of similarity of nonprivilege. Chapter seven recounts a longer case that illustrates the complexity of fighting sexism and finding repair in political interpretation. Chapter eight presents a summary and integration of the ideas that have previously arisen with respect to the different relative power situations."--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).