Knowing me, knowing you: The rise of therapeutic professionalism in the education of adults

Cultural and political interest in people's emotional well-being encourages the idea that education should play a prominent role in fostering students' emotional intelligence, self-esteem and self-awareness. This resonates increasingly with a broader therapeutic ethos that supporters claim promotes better personal relationships and democratic processes. The paper questions whether such goals are progressive in the education of adults, and explores their effects upon educators' professional roles and beliefs. It argues that a therapeutic ethos enables the State to legitimise cultural and political preoccupation with emotional well-being and to blur divisions between public and private domains. It suggests that, in adult education, encouraging professionals to engage more emotionally with a disaffected public legitimises therapeutic professionalism and re-presents certain aspects of expertise as inauthentic and exclusive. The paper concludes that therapeutic education and therapeutic professionalism encourage expectations of learning rooted in introspection, feelings of vulnerability and the avoidance of risk, thereby undermining aspirations for education that develops meaningful knowledge and skills.