While in some modalities of therapy, counsellors may choose to portray themselves as experts, the person-centred approach advocates reducing the power imbalance between client and therapist. Making the power balance completely equal is impossible, simply because the client comes to us in distress, wanting our assistance, while we are not distressed. And in fact, even in person-centred counselling, there are several good reasons to retain some power as the therapist.

First, we are professionals, who must work within the law (e.g. on confidentiality). Second, the late psychologist Petruska Clarkson spoke of the reparenting aspect of working with clients, in the sense of setting clear boundaries for them. Third, clients need to see us as dependable and able to offer hope – for example, it could be really damaging if a counsellor collapsed in tears after hearing a client’s story. And last but not least, sometimes we need to refer clients to a more appropriate therapist or service. All these occasions are times when retaining an appropriate degree of power is both useful and important.

However, there are ways we can avoid flaunting our power, and we must be open to clients’ sensitivities in this regard. Ken illustrates this using his experience of counselling in a GP surgery, where a huge, plush chair was provided for the professional and a small, rickety one for the patient/client; he fetched another small chair in an attempt to equalise status. Other inadvertent displays of power include certificates on the wall, family pictures in the therapy room, and expensive cars outside.

The key is how you, as therapist, utilise your power: like all tools, it can be used for good and for bad.