Let's talk about (therapeutic) love in pluralistic practice

Staying ethical, helpful, and culturally attuned

Abstract

Therapeutic love is a recurrent concept in academic literature, referring to loving feelings that a therapist may hold or develop for clients. Therapists from across disparate modalities repeatedly argue for its centrality within their practice. This theory paper explores different perspectives on the phenomenon, and its relevance to pluralistic practice. Pluralism leaves space for the individuation of unique practitioners. As such, it is for each to ask and personally determine what role love ‘for the client’ might play in their philosophical and practical understanding of their therapy work, if any. It is argued that interrogation of this question presents an opportunity for greater depth of understanding of practice style, given pluralism’s relational focus. The paper proceeds in two parts. The first examines literature in relation to the concept of therapeutic love. It delineates ethically appropriate ground on which love can be considered in therapy, identifies relevant conceptual and experiential forms of love, and attempts to sketch a working definition with which to proceed. Particular attention is paid to the work of Fromm and van Deurzen. The second part expands on the relevance to pluralistic theory and practice. Three reflective questions are generated, to support practitioners in examining the topic for themselves. These are formulated around the possibility of therapeutic love playing a role, with a focus on its ethical appropriateness, therapeutic merit, and cultural relevance for clients. Finally, the paper makes explicit some of the risks inherent in engaging with this concept, particularly in relation to misunderstandings and maleficence.