Abstract
During the past quarter century, new ideas have evolved about how professionals should treat their clients and patients. Beginning in the 1950s, professionals in various fields increasingly questioned the long-held assumption that professionals have the right to control their clients or patients in the interest of serving them. Some mental health professionals promoted a participatory or collaborative approach, arguing that effective psychotherapy requires active acceptance and assumption of personal responsibility by the patient. In his influential book, Lawyer and Client: Who's in Charge?, Douglas Rosenthal drew on the burgeoning literature in the social sciences to critically examine the traditional attorney-client relationship. Like critics in the other professions, Rosenthal argued for client participation in place of professional control. Positing that "the best course of action" depends on "what is important to the client as much as on some objectively right remedy," Rosenthal argued that the "participatory" model of attorney-client interaction has several advantages over the traditional lawyer-controlling model.
Publication Title
Clinical Law Review
Volume
1
Issue
3
First Page
541
Recommended Citation
Linda F. Smith,
Interviewing Clients: A Linguistic Comparison of the "Traditional" Interview and the "Client-Centered" Interview,
1
Clinical L. Rev
541
(1995).
Available at:
https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/clr/vol1/iss3/3