The ostrich raises its head: "Knowing" and moral accountability in the practice of psychotherapy

What is "knowing" in psychotherapy? What impact does it have on patients an d therapists? Does knowing have moral relevance? This paper explores these questions through traditional, feminist, and psychoanalytic critiques of ep istemology, Countertransference issues are addressed, including a discussio n of therapists' resistances to knowing about their patients' realities. Th e author proposes that when therapists can truly "know" their patients, and patients are able to know themselves, moral responsiveness and accountabil ity ensue.