Howard Brody's The Expert Power Of Social Healers

As we grow older, we hear about how individuals of upper degree misuse their ability of power. Really, there are three different kinds of powers: ‘shared’, ‘owned’, and ‘aimed’. In Howard Brody’s essay “The Expert Power of Social Healers”, he defines how these powers are used. The most basic form of power is shared power. Shared power makes it “possible to own or disclose one’s power without sharing it” (Ladd 1129). The good thing about this power is it gives one the opportunity to “aim one’s power at a particular goal without sharing it” (Ladd 1129). The individual can choose weather or not to share their power. The second form of power is owned power. Owned power is “used in the sense of acknowledged; and suggests both candid admission …show more content…
The last power is aimed power. Aimed power is simply aiming one’s power solely as intent to victimize. These powers can determine how a person is treated and how it is easy to misuse these powers. With shared power comes great responsibility. Just because one has power, doesn’t mean that they should abuse it. Shared power in my opinion is one of the safest kinds of power. Shared power “tends to promote a degree of self-correction that prevents abuse and victimization” (Ladd 1129). Individuals that have such shared power understand that they cannot just use it to their advantage. Take for example Dr. Valerie Walsh in the case of the Baker’s. Mr. Baker, 77 years old, was diagnosed with ALS due to progressive weakness. Mrs. Baker, 73 years old, was now his caretaker. Although Mr. Baker was ill, and Mrs. Baker was …show more content…
In the Case of Opal, a disabled child that was left in the care of her grandmother, Opal has power, even though she does not know it. Opal’s grandmother has a power as well because she is the caretaker of Opal, and does everything she is able to do for her so she can have a good life. The only thing that stands in the grandmother’s way of taking care of Opal the way she want’s to, is the powers of the primary-care pediatrician and the crippled children’s team. Since the caretakers have more power than the grandmother has, they think that they know what is best for Opal, even though her grandmother has been taking care of her for almost her entire life. This information shows us that “owned power becomes a problem when the role of the expert and the need to consult experts over every detail of day-to-day living are taken for granted” (Brody 114). The care pediatricians did not consult with anyone, instead they just did what they thought was best. In the case of the Baker’s, Dr. Walsh abused her power and didn’t consult with anyone in higher power to see if what she was doing is correct. Instead, Dr. Walsh allowed herself to tell the Baker’s what she thought would be best but failed to enforce what she said would be best, so therefore, it was merely a suggestion. Since Dr. Walsh is a professional, “the professional must assume a deeper responsibility than the client. It is perfectly excusable for