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Concept
Therapeutic relationship
Summary
The therapeutic relationship refers to the relationship between a healthcare professional and a client or patient. It is the means by which a therapist and a client hope to engage with each other and effect beneficial change in the client.
In psychoanalysis the therapeutic relationship has been theorized to consist of three parts: the working alliance, transference/countertransference, and the real relationship. Evidence on each component's unique contribution to the outcome has been gathered, as well as evidence on the interaction between components. In contrast to a social relationship, the focus of the therapeutic relationship is on the client's needs and goals.
The therapeutic alliance, or the working alliance may be defined as the joining of a client's reasonable side with a therapist's working or analyzing side. Bordin conceptualized the working alliance as consisting of three parts: tasks, goals and bond. Tasks are what the therapist and client agree need to be done to reach the client's goals. Goals are what the client hopes to gain from therapy, based on their presenting concerns. The bond forms from trust and confidence that the tasks will bring the client closer to their goals.
Research on the working alliance suggests that it is a strong predictor of psychotherapy or counseling client outcome. Also, the way in which the working alliance unfolds has been found to be related to client outcomes. Generally, an alliance that experiences a rupture that is repaired is related to better outcomes than an alliance with no ruptures, or an alliance with a rupture that is not repaired. Also, in successful cases of brief therapy, the working alliance has been found to follow a high-low-high pattern over the course of the therapy. Therapeutic alliance has been found to be effective in treating adolescents with PTSD, with the strongest alliances were associated with the greatest improvement in PTSD symptoms. Regardless of other treatment procedures, studies have shown that the degree to which traumatized adolescents feel a connection with their therapist greatly affects how well they do during treatment.
Official source
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