The first part of this paper is a brief overview of the keynote speech given by Jeffrey Masson at the Sixth Conference of the Society for Existential Analysis, London, entitled Issues of power in the psychotherapeutic relationship, in which Masson raised various questions about the assumptions of what constitutes the alleged inappropriate behaviour of therapists, and the boundaries of the professional role that must not be overstepped. These criticisms are begun to be addressed in this paper. The overall aim of this paper is to promote a sceptical and critical discussion of the psychotherapeutic relationship and a few of its founding assumptions.