Questions Answered

"As we shall see in the chapter on social constructionism, some postmodern therapists have come to distrust the power imbalance inherent in modernism and first-order cybernetics.  They have adopted a not-knowing or decentered position in an attempt to focus on the client as expert and all but remove the therapist from imposing personal/professional influence on the family.  von Bertalanffy, however, believed that it was impossible for therapists to not influence the family system; he noted that not all values, positions, and perspectives were of equal value; indeed, some positions - even those held by the family - can cause damage to the system and the environment.  It is, therefore, essential that therapists study and understand the values, assumptions, and convictions that have been adopted in their own lives, and to evaluate their theories and practices in relation to the impact these will have on the family, the community, and the culture." (p.20)

from Theory and Practice of Family Therapy and Counseling by James R. Bitter

In seminary, I have found that many of my life questions that I have been "simmering" over for the past 3 years have been answered in my Marriage & Family Counseling class.  Maybe I should switch to a counseling degree program.