Beyond Critique: Composition and Curiosity in Therapy

Originally published in February 2021 by Thick Press as a Book Emerging project

By Chris Hoff & J. D’Arrigo

SIGNATURE #1

Introductory Thoughts

The contemporary family therapy and counseling fields are at a crossroads. If we are to remain impactful in these contemporary times, it is necessary for us to take a critical look at the tools, ideas, and beliefs that have shaped and governed our work. While the world we live in is struggling with new fundamentalisms in both domestic and global politics, we are witness to and cannot deny the influence of these larger contexts on the intimate conversations we have with those who seek our help. At the time of this writing, many in the field are wrestling with how to integrate social justice into therapy and counseling in tangible and explicit ways.

While attending to larger sociopolitical influence has been the focus of some committed therapists and counselors, historically and in our recent past (Waldegrave & Tamasese, 1994; Almeida, Dolan Del-Vecchio, & Parker, 2008; Knudson-Martin & Heunergardt, 2010), more and more therapists are understanding that therapy is bigger than what happens in the four walls of most therapy offices, and are engaged in an effort to confront these systemic problems in the larger…