Research has shown that a strong therapeutic alliance is necessary for establishing a beneficial contact between the therapist and the client. If the therapist does not encourage the creation of a reliable therapeutic alliance from the beginning of the treatment, it will be hard to develop a constructive relationship with the client later. Establishing the therapeutic alliance will increase the chances of achieving the goal of the treatment because the clients will be willing to cooperate if they trust and respect the therapist. Clients are not likely to cooperate with therapists who impose their authority aggressively. Instead of imposing their authority on the patient, therapists should develop work with their patients by building a mutual relationship based on trust, understanding, and respect for the client. According to Jeremy Safran and Christopher Muran (2000), psychiatric research shows that the quality of the therapeutic alliance is the most important factor in determining the therapist's success. “Some therapists are consistently more helpful than others; differences in therapist ability seem to be more important than therapeutic modality, and the more helpful therapists appear better able to facilitate the development of a therapeutic alliance” (Safran & Muran, 2000). However, the main problem is that it is difficult to teach the skills necessary for the creation of a therapeutic alliance. In fact, psychotherapy research stresses the importance of the development of human qualities in the therapist. According to Safran and Muran (2000), the therapist need to constantly develop themselves and become involved in personal growth through inner work. Without this feature, the therapists will not be able to devel... ... middle of paper ... ...ate with their therapists. “A systematic relationship between the therapists' personal reactions to the patient and the quality of their communication, diagnostic impressions, and treatment plans” (Horvath & Greenberg, ). While positive attitudes from the therapists are more likely to result in a successful treatment, negative attitudes will not develop the necessary cooperation from the clients side to successfully reach the goal of the therapy. Regardless of the treatment method, the findings of scientific research stress the importance of a relationship-based treatment which operates on trust and openness. All researchers claim that developing a strong therapeutic alliance in the beginning influences the course of the treatment and its success. The early development of this kind of relationship with the patients will improve the therapists' chances of success.
Creating the therapeutic alliance and sustaining it is vital for the client to be able to trust and rely on the clinician for help. “An early and strong therapeutic alliance is critical to successful treatment.”...
As this book points out, and what I found interesting, the therapeutic relationship between therapist and client, can be even more important than how the therapy sessions are conducted. A therapists needs to be congruent. This is important because a client needs a sense of stability. To know what is expected from him or her while being in this transitional period of change. In some cases this congruency may be the only stability in his life, and without it, there is no way of him trusting in his t...
Hersoug, A. G., Høglend, P., Monsen, J. T., & Havik, O. E., (2001). Quality of working alliance in psychotherapy: Therapist variables and patient/therapist similarity as predictors. Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research, 10, 205-216.
Watson, J.C., & Gellar, S.M. (2005). The relation among the relationship conditions, working alliance, and outcome in both process-experiential and cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. Psychotherapy Research 15(1-2), 25-33.
The psychotherapies that I most support are a hybrid of two therapies, Carl Rogers’ nondirective Person/Client-Centered Approach and Aaron Beck’s Cognitive Approach. To put it simply, I call it the Person-Centered Cognitive Approach to psychotherapy. A collaboration of these two approaches is what I feel to be the most effective way to help clients achieve homeostasis and growth. I believe the client/therapist relationship is important, and this is why I support the Roger’s Person-Centered therapy and feel it is effective. If the client/therapist relationship is agreeable the atmosphere of the therapeutic relationship will allow for the client to open up, trust the therapist, and allow them to aid the client to move in a constructive direction (Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy). Beck’s Cognitive Therapy also puts great emphasis on a collaborative therapeutic relation, but the reason I support this approach opposed to behavioral approaches is because it says we are what we think (Corsini & Wedding, 2008), and in order for us to be able to change we have to become aware and evaluate our thoughts (Rosner, 2012).
Reflecting on my work as a therapist, I recognize the importance of the therapeutic relationship. For instance, in EFT the therapist, “the therapeutic relationship, characterized by presence, empathy, acceptance, and congruence, helps clients to feel safe enough to face dreaded feelings and painful memories (Greenberg, 2014).
Ruddy, N. B., Borresen, D. A., & Gunn Jr., W. B. (2008). Colocating with medical professionals: A new model of integrated care. In The collaborative psychotherapist: Creating reciprocal relationships with medical professionals (pp.115–133). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
It was also made very evident that individuals are connected to everybody else in the world in some way even when the connection is not made fully aware of. Jung stated that we are all connected through repetitive events in which we find meaningful. Research is starting to focus more on synchronicity, thus changing the way individuals view it when it comes to psychotherapy. Walt Whitman as well as Jung believe that once synchronicity is established in therapy, those experiences are then able to build off of each other. Overall, relational therapy might need to involve receptivity and sustained attention awareness in order to aide in the healing process while shifting through the therapeutic process. It was made very clear in this article that client-patient understanding is a very important concept of psychotherapy due to the fact that if the therapist cannot communicate with their patient, the problems in which the patient is suffering from cannot be solved. In addition, when therapists have a close connection with their patients, they are able to understand their feelings more than if not, therefore, they will be able to identify problems and find solutions to those problems. Synchronicity is strongly encouraged to be incorporated in psychotherapy due to the fact that such
Because Chuck has had several troublesome relationships in his past, in order for treatment to be successful, it is crucial the he develops a trusting relationship with his therapist. Kazdin, Marciano and Whitley (2005) acknowledge that a strong therapeutic alliance is a central component of CBT. Being able to reduce perceived barriers going into treatment can enhance the treatment experience, and can result in more positive outcomes for clients. For Chuck, the relationship he has with his therapist will be a major factor in how he will respond to treatment. Chuck has already made himself vulnerable by going to therapy and he needs to be in a supportive and positive environment so that he is able to realize that he is capable of building trustworthy
Regardless of the health care setting, the relationship between the patient and the provider is one of the most important factors affecting patient satisfaction. Improving interpersonal issues is therefore highly recommended to enhance patient satisfaction (Crow R, et al. 2002). Caring and respectful relationships between patient and provider are vital for patient satisfaction (Svensson B, Hansson L. 2006). The relationship between patient and provider has been strongly emphasized in mental health care, and has been described as encompassing three parts: a working alliance, a transference configuration, and a real relationship. The working alliance is considered to be the most fundamental for effective treatment (Gelso C, Carter J. 1994). Although the term treatment or working alliance originated in psychoanalysis, it can be generalized to all forms of psychotherapy (Bordin E. 1979).
Although, this session ended with amazing results, I feel as though I need more practice with this type of therapy. I have to continue to practice on allowing the patient to come up with their own solutions. I found it hard not giving advice to my client, because I already knew the situation. However, in the end I found myself very proud, because even though this was not a real therapy session, but the client was able to find a real solution to her problem. This experience is one that teaches the therapist restraint, it allows one to step back and listen. It also gives the client the opportunity to reach a solution themselves without someone giving them the answer to their
Suzette’s historical concerns about therapy not working for her and feeling judged by her previous therapists, will need to be considered for our therapeutic alliance. I will need to build rapport with Suzette through active listening and empathetic words. Our goal as a team will be to create a safe environment for Suzette to feel like she is in a secure and safe place to express her feelings and thoughts without judgment. Periodically, I will check in with Suzette by asking her “Do you have a positive view of therapy and
Treatment is a procedure of evacuating deterrents and liberating a man so that typical development and improvement can continue and the customer can end up plainly free and self-coordinated (Rogers, 1977). Over the span of treatment, the customer makes an exchange from judgment and uncertainty of self-observation to acknowledgment and development. Certain prerequisites from both the advisor and customer are fundamental for this procedure. A development advancing atmosphere requires the specialist to be compatible, have genuine positive view for the customer and additionally demonstrate empathic comprehension (Rogers, 1961). Harmoniousness is of most extreme significance with respect to the advisor; this alludes to his or her capacity to be totally honest to goodness and straightforward with their "self" at the time. While it is important amid treatment he or she is not anticipated that would be a totally compatible individual constantly, all things
Understanding the counseling session from the client’s perspective is a very important aspect in the development of a therapeutic relationship. A clinician must be an excellent listener, while being to pay attention to the client’s body language, affect and tone. The dynamics in the counseling session that is beneficial to the client include the recognition of the pain that the client is feeling. The detrimental part of this includes a misunderstanding of the real issues, a lack of consideration of the cultural aspects of the client, and a lack of clinical experience or listening skills. In this presentation, we will discuss the positive and negative aspects of the counseling session from the client’s perspective which includes the client’s attitudes, feelings, and emotions of the counseling session. We will next examine the propensity of the client to reveal or not reveal information to the counselor, and how transference, and counter-transference can have an effect on the counselor-client relationship.
Three interrelated attitude of the therapist are central to the success of person-centered therapy, this include: congruence; unconditional positive regard; and empathy (Corey, 2010). Congruence represents the openness and geniuses of the therapists. Therapists who function this way does not hind behind a professional façade, and are willing to share significant emotional reactions with their clients. Unconditional positive regards refers to the therapist accepting the client totally as she or he is without disapproving particular behaviors, believes, feelings or characteristics. Therapists convey this message by their wiliness to listen without being judging, or directive. The therapist who creates a nonthreatening context allows the clients to explore and share their true feelings without fear of being judged. Empathy is the third necessary component of a therapist’s attitude. The therapist should try to see through client’s point to view, and show understanding and sensitivity to client’s feeling throughout the therapy session. When these three attitudes are conveyed by a therapist, according the Rogers, the client can freely express themselves without afraid of being