Page 2 - LN 1_Therapuetic Approaches

THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP

➢ The special relationship between the client and the therapist is known as the
therapeutic relationship.
➢ It is also known as ‘alliance’.
➢ There are two major components of a therapeutic alliance.
✓ The first component is the contractual nature of the relationship in which two
willing individuals, the client and the therapist, enter into a partnership which
aims at helping the client overcome her/his problems.
✓ The second component of therapeutic alliance is the limited duration of the
therapy.
➢ This alliance lasts until the client becomes able to deal with her/his problems and
take control of her/ his life.
➢ This relationship has several unique properties.
a. It is a trusting and confiding relationship. The therapist encourages this by
being accepting, empathic, genuine and warm to the client.
b. The therapist shows the unconditional positive regard towards the clients
which is conveyed by her/his words and behaviours that s/he is not
judging the client.
c. The therapist has empathy for the client. Empathy means understanding
things from the other person’s perspective, i.e. putting oneself in the other
person’s shoes.
d. Confidentiality must be maintained by the therapist strictly about the
experiences, events, feelings or thoughts disclosed by the client. The
therapist must not exploit the trust of the client in anyway.
e. Finally, it is a professional relationship, and must remain so.

TYPE OF THEORIES

➢ Though all psychotherapies aim at removing human distress and fostering
effective behaviour, they differ greatly in concepts, methods, and techniques.
➢ The classification of psychotherapies is based on the following parameters:

1. What is the cause, which has led to the problem?

▪ Psychodynamic therapy is of the view that intrapsychic conflicts are the source
of psychological problems.
▪ According to behaviour therapies, psychological problems arise due to faulty
learning of behaviours and cognitions.
▪ The existential therapies postulate that the questions about the meaning of
one’s life and existence are the cause of psychological problems.