Multiple Contemporaneous Games in Psychotherapy: Psychodynamic and Political Perspectives.

Taking a two-person (Stark, 1999) and political approach to psychotherapy, the authors discuss the potential for multiple games occurring contemporaneously in the therapeutic dyad and illustrate the psychodynamics of such games by referencing ego state relational units (Little, 2006). The article describes how an overly simplistic approach to supporting autonomy can lead to an oppressive use of theory and the potential colonization of clients. Clinical examples and the idea of dilemma transactions are offered to demonstrate therapeutic options for working with multiple contemporaneous games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]