{"id":14971,"date":"2016-06-23T11:03:51","date_gmt":"2016-06-23T10:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=14971"},"modified":"2023-03-07T16:12:04","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T16:12:04","slug":"what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm","title":{"rendered":"What is the Therapeutic Alliance and Why is it Important?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_15031\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5736092244_a6acef31f0.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15031\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15031\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5736092244_a6acef31f0-400x266.jpg\" alt=\"therapeutic relationship \" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5736092244_a6acef31f0-400x266.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5736092244_a6acef31f0.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5736092244_a6acef31f0-180x120.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-15031\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/juggernautco\/5736092244\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Daniel X. O&#8217;Neil<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333399;\">by Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The &#8216;therapeutic alliance&#8217;, also called the &#8216;therapeutic relationship&#8217;,<span style=\"color: #333333;\"> is <strong>how you and a therapist connect, behave, and engage with each other. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\">Some sum this up by saying the therapeutic alliance is <strong>the &#8216;bond&#8217; that develops in the therapy room.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Nowadays, the therapeutic alliance is seen by most forms of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/difference-between-psychotherapy-and-counselling.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">counselling and psychotherapy<\/span><\/a> as<strong> one of the main tools for achieving positive change in the lives of clients. <\/strong>The ability to develop a good therapeutic relationship with clients is focussed on in training as an essential professional skill.<\/p>\n<h2>Why is the therapeutic relationship so important?<\/h2>\n<p>Just think about any relationship, such as ones between family, friends, or colleagues. <strong>If you trust others, you can truly be yourself around them, and tend to learn and grow more<\/strong> around them as you are relaxed. All of which is, of course, useful in the therapy room.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>And yet many who seek therapy actually<em> don&#8217;t<\/em> trust or feel comfortable around others, even family and friends<\/strong>. We come from upbringings where we did not have the chance to be loved for being ourselves or to rely on others. hence we end up needing support in the first place. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">And that&#8217;s why the therapeutic relationship can be not just valuable, but might be the most powerful part of therapy of all &#8211; it offers a chance to finally experience what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/healthy-relationships-help-guide.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">healthy relating<\/span><\/a> actually is. For the first time, you can drop the mask and the games and feel safe just being who you are, and learn what a trusting, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">authentic relationship<\/span> feels like. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>In summary, the therapeutic relationship can be a container to:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>learn what a trusting relationship feels like. <\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>try new ways of relating in a safe space.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>be your authentic self without having to impress or please someone.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong> share things with someone who is impartial and wants the best for you.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>But aren&#8217;t therapists aloof? (A brief history of the therapeutic alliance)<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_15043\" style=\"width: 328px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15043\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15043\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6334039243_c1d62bfb0a-318x400.jpg\" alt=\"What is the therapeutic alliance?\" width=\"318\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6334039243_c1d62bfb0a-318x400.jpg 318w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/6334039243_c1d62bfb0a.jpg 397w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 318px) 100vw, 318px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-15043\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/aeneastudio\/6334039243\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">aeneastudio<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>If you had an idea of a therapist as an aloof doctor, nodding and taking notes as a &#8216;patient&#8217; sprawls on a couch,<\/strong> you would be in good company. It&#8217;s a cliche as old as photos of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/freuds-main-theories-psychoanalysis.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Freud<\/span><\/a> himself, frowning and bespectacled.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Freud did believe in keeping patients at arm&#8217;s length. <\/strong>He felt that a patient&#8217;s desire for a relationship was &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-deal-with-transference-in-therapy.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">transference<\/span><\/a>&#8216; (when patients project repressed wishes from the past onto the therapist) and it was best to stay rational and &#8220;maintain a professional distance at all times&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But in his later life Freud actually questioned this theory, considering the possibilities of a beneficial attachment<\/strong> between therapist and patient, instead of delegating any attempt at connecting as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/psychological-projection-are-you-making-everyone-else-responsible.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">projection<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/carl-jung-introduction-jungian-psychology.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Jung<\/span><\/a>, Freud&#8217;s main competitor, was more open with patients than Freud, feeling he should freely share his thoughts and feelings with them.<\/strong> It was after all Jung who said, &#8216;the meeting of two personalities is like contact of two chemical substances. If there is any reaction, both are transformed&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But it wasn&#8217;t until Carl Rogers, the founder of<\/strong> humanistic or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-person-centred-counselling.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">&#8216;person-centred&#8217; therapy<\/span><\/a>, came along, that therapy&#8217;s actual capacity to produce beneficial results was connected directly to the relationship a therapist fostered.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Person-centred therapy recognised that better results were gained if a therapist was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/sympathy-and-empathy.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">empathic<\/span><\/a>, genuine (called &#8216;congruent&#8217;), and truly believed in their clients (called &#8216;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/unconditional-positive-regard-what-it-is-and-why-you-need-it.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">unconditional positive regard<\/span><\/a>&#8216;).<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(Note the use of &#8216;client&#8217; \u2013 it was also humanistic therapy who made the move away from the unfriendly term &#8216;patients&#8217;.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Since humanistic therapy and its theories came along, the therapeutic alliance has been focussed on by all forms of <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">counselling and psychotherapy<\/span> as an essential focus.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_15052\" style=\"width: 277px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15052\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-15052\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/4102645583_3b9a649474-1-267x400.jpg\" alt=\"therapeutic alliance\" width=\"267\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/4102645583_3b9a649474-1-267x400.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/4102645583_3b9a649474-1.jpg 334w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-15052\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/alancleaver\/4102645583\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Alan Cleaver<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<h2>The elements of the therapeutic alliance &#8211; it&#8217;s not a one way street!<\/h2>\n<p>As a client you will have a different view of what is important in the client-therapist relationship compared to what your therapist will hope for. You might seek a therapist who is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>understanding and able to &#8216;connect&#8217;<\/li>\n<li>a good listener<\/li>\n<li>empathic<\/li>\n<li>trustworthy<\/li>\n<li>experienced and skilled<\/li>\n<li>warm (or the right level of warmth for you)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Your therapist might, however, be looking for the following in your relationship:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>that you can agree on how the therapy can progress<\/li>\n<li>that you can work collaboratively<\/li>\n<li>that you show up and actively participate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">So a good therapeutic alliance will involve all these factors, and<strong> doesn&#8217;t just rely on the therapist but also on you as a client to do your part. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What does research have to say about the therapeutic relationship?<\/h2>\n<p>There is by now a huge body of research around the positive affects of the therapeutic alliance. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3198542\/\">comprehensive 2011 overview<\/a> of previous studies on the subject found that &#8220;the quality of <strong>the client\u2013therapist alliance is a reliable predictor of positive clinical outcome independent of the variety of psychotherapy approaches and outcome measures.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3946510\/\">most recent studies in 2014<\/a> looked at the affect of a good therapeutic alliance on clients seeking help for dissociative disorders, showing it resulted in less distress and PTSD symptoms . A worry about previous studies on the therapeutic relationship is that results were therapist-led, <strong>but in this study, it was the clients who ranked the therapeutic alliance as effective even more so than the therapists involved. <\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>I would like a therapy that really focuses on the therapeutic relationship<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Some modern forms of therapy now make the therapeutic relationship a central aspect and focus on it as a main tool of transformation.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>These include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-cognitive-analytic-therapy.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Cognitive analytic therapy (CAT)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/dynamic-interpersonal-therapy.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Dynamic interpersonal therapy (DIT)<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-schema-therapy.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Schema therapy <\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>So how to find a good therapeutic alliance, then?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s important to keep in mind that therapists are people, and who suits you is unique to you.<\/strong> In this way <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/types-of-therapists.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">finding a good therapist<\/span><\/a> is a bit like dating. You might have to consult with a few first until you find the right &#8216;click&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If in doubt, keep in mind Carl Rogers&#8217; three main components a good therapeutic alliance &#8211; <\/strong>empathy, congruence, and unconditional positive regard. In other words,<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Is the therapist supportive and understanding?<\/li>\n<li>Is the therapist genuine and themselves over pretending to be a &#8216;guru&#8217;?<\/li>\n<li>Do they see your value as a person?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>If so, stick it out and see where the relationship takes you.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Do you have a story to share with our audience about your experience of the therapeutic alliance? Do so below.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><b>Andrea M. Darcy<\/b> is a health and wellbeing writer as well as mentor, trained in person-centred counselling and coaching. She often writes about trauma, relationships, and ADHD. Find her on Instagram @am_darcy<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Andrea M. Darcy The &#8216;therapeutic alliance&#8217;, also called the &#8216;therapeutic relationship&#8217;, is how you and a therapist connect, behave, and engage with each other. Some sum this up by saying the therapeutic alliance is the &#8216;bond&#8217; that develops in the therapy room. Nowadays, the therapeutic alliance is seen by most forms of counselling and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":15031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-theory-and-training","has_thumb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is the therapeutic alliance and why is it so important?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Do you have to trust or like your therapist? Research shows that the therapeutic relationship is so important it determines the results of your therapy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is the Therapeutic Alliance and Why is it Important?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Do you have to trust or like your therapist? Research shows that the therapeutic relationship is so important it determines the results of your therapy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/harleytherapy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-23T10:03:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-07T16:12:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5736092244_a6acef31f0.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"333\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrea M. 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Darcy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm\",\"name\":\"What is the therapeutic alliance and why is it so important?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5736092244_a6acef31f0.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-23T10:03:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-07T16:12:04+00:00\",\"description\":\"Do you have to trust or like your therapist? 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Research shows that the therapeutic relationship is so important it determines the results of your therapy.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm","og_site_name":"Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/harleytherapy","article_published_time":"2016-06-23T10:03:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-03-07T16:12:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":500,"height":333,"url":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5736092244_a6acef31f0.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Andrea M. Darcy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/AndreaMDarcy","twitter_site":"@HarleyTherapy","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrea M. Darcy","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm","url":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm","name":"What is the therapeutic alliance and why is it so important?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5736092244_a6acef31f0.jpg","datePublished":"2016-06-23T10:03:51+00:00","dateModified":"2023-03-07T16:12:04+00:00","description":"Do you have to trust or like your therapist? Research shows that the therapeutic relationship is so important it determines the results of your therapy.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-therapeutic-alliance.htm#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5736092244_a6acef31f0.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5736092244_a6acef31f0.jpg","width":500,"height":333,"caption":"By: Daniel X. 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Darcy","author_link":"#"},"uagb_comment_info":4,"uagb_excerpt":"by Andrea M. Darcy The &#8216;therapeutic alliance&#8217;, also called the &#8216;therapeutic relationship&#8217;, is how you and a therapist connect, behave, and engage with each other. Some sum this up by saying the therapeutic alliance is the &#8216;bond&#8217; that develops in the therapy room. 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