Engaging the client/developing and maintaining therapeutic alliance The therapeutic alliance also known as a therapeutic relationship is about how I as a clinician/therapist connects, behave and engage with a client and also how a client relates to the therapist (Harely Therapy, 2016). This relationship is collaborative. I remember going into the first session nervous and incompetent. In our first meeting, Sarah asked me, you are just a student and how can you help her. I remember telling her, I am being trained at university and also, I am working under the supervision of J*. I let her know that I will be transparent about things I don't know, and I will come back with answers in the next session or sessions. As Sarah shared her fears of …show more content…
She said yes, and I asked Sarah if she will feel better if Jakki apologies and make her a nice cup of tea? She said she would like it and it will make her feel better. In the next session, I met with Jakki and asked her how she felt when her mother accused her of not keeping her commitments. Jakki stated, she was annoyed and irritated and said her mother was exaggerating a little too much. I also have a feeling that I might have made my client Jakki feel doubt her capability of looking after herself when she goes to university because I would often talk about the importance of having some life skills in our toolbox. Potential barriers Some of the barriers I have encountered in the session are – (1) Sarah’s resistance to change. Sarah comes to the session with the idea that my daughter has a problem and you have to fix it. In an individual session, I have tried to explore her upbringing to see if there were any similarities between her childhood and how her daughter is. Sarah stated that she grew up in a big family and she did not have to do household chores, but here in Canada, she has to do everything by herself. So, when I suggested that she needs to remain positive and reward, Jakki for doing household work, she told me, “I have been doing all these years, and now you want me to reward her for doing her 'own' dishes.” Told her, “I agree with you, but today, I am looking from the
By examining the bond between a therapist and his client we can further understand how important the role of therapeutic alliance is in treatment outcome. The authors point out that therapeutic alliance plays a major positive impact on the outcome of therapy. Individuals who build good therapeutic alliances with their therapists experience more productive and effective therapy than individuals who do not.
A therapeutic relationship is a professional, inter-personal alliance in which the nurse and client join together for a defined period to achieve health-related treatment goals (Chauhan & Long, 2000), which may only last for a short period of time but
A therapeutic relationship is a key component in the nursing profession. Without therapeutic relationships, the best possible care can never be provided. The foundation in which trust is built upon is created from the nurse’s ability to truly listen and respond appropriately. Listening creates the base in developing a strong, trusting relationship. Sometimes it is simply hearing what a patient says that makes all the difference, empowering them to open up and become more comfortable with the nurse (Hawkins-Walsh, 2000).
It could easily be said that a strong and healthy therapeutic alliance is the key cornerstone of successful psychotherapy. Believed to be the foundation and strongest catalyst for all positive transformation resulting from therapy. Without this sublime connection most therapy would surely fail. Lacking the support of a strong alliance clients would find it near to impossible to reach their goals. Of the many treatments that have been the subject of outcome based research, impressively therapeutic alliance shows the most consistent and strong evidence for support.
In a psychotherapist’s office, there are a multitude of occurrences that may prompt possible boundary crossings and violations - some that may impact the therapeutic alliance or some that may enhance the relationship. Therefore, a psychotherapist must weigh the possible risks and benefits when coming across such instances that may engender a boundary crossing, a boundary violation, or a formation of a dual relationship. Although, not all boundary crossings or dual relationships are considered unethical, psychotherapists should still be weary of trespassing such ambiguous territory, especially when the trespassing can lead to exploitation of a client or impairment on the psychotherapist’s professional judgment (Jensen, 2005). Thus, an analysis of decision-making is warranted in Lying on the Couch (Yalom, 1997), where psychotherapists, Dr. Marshal Streider and Dr. Ernest Lash, facilitate a myriad of dual relationships and boundary crossings via self-disclosure, without taking into consideration the implications this may have on the client.
positive helping alliance. The development of a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship is associated with the unfolding of mutual trust and respect. As a nurse, your responsibility within the relationship is to provide a nurturing environment of both faith and hope, while exhibiting sensitivity towards your patient and their families. Gregory, Raymond-Seniuk, Patrick & Stephen (2015) describes a therapeutic relationship between the nurse and client as purposeful, goal-orientated, time-limited and always housing the patients’ best interests and outcomes at the center (p. 608). The purpose of the simulation interview was to gain exposure of what skills we as nursing students portray within developing the nurse-patient relationship, but also become aware of what aspects of the interview or relationship that we could work to improve on.
The therapeutic alliance is the foundation for successful or unsuccessful treatment engagement (Sprenkle et al., 2009). The extent to which clients are able to engage with the therapist, will likely determine the expanse of participation and commitment they will attribute to therapy (Sprenkle et al., 2009), or social work intervention in its entirety. To elaborate, consider patients diagnosed with CKD. CKD is a primarily asymptomatic, but progressive and physiologically degenerative disease; if specific protocols to maintain sufficient kidney function are not adhered to (Collins et al., 2003). One may assume, these patients may feel intrinsically oppressed by their diagnosis, because they are typically advised to make specific
According to Bordin (1979), therapeutic alliance was referred to the relationship where therapist and client are committed in collaborative and purposeful work. Bordin further explained therapeutic alliance into three components - bonds, goals and tasks. Bond was known as the interaction and connectedness between therapist and client. It suggested the therapist’s interpersonal attitudes, approaches and the impacts on client. Goal defined as purpose of the helping process-
There are a multitude of reasons why an individual may need or want therapy; whether it’s due to learning how to cope with a mental disorder or disability, life happenings such as traumas or abuse, addictions, or even PTSD. Anybody can receive it – individual persons, families, or groups. It isn’t hard to argue that most therapists and psychologists will agree that the therapeutic alliance is one of the most beneficial foundations of a therapy session. Also referred to as the working alliance or working relationship, it represents the bond between therapist and
In this essay, I am going to give a structured reflective account on the development of a therapeutic relationship with a client on one of my clinical placements as part of my training as a student nurse. I will be using a reflective model which explores the processes involved in developing and maintaining such relationships bearing in mind theoretical knowledge and how it applies to this clinical experience. Jasper (2003) describes reflective practice as one of the ways that professionals learn from experience in order to understand and develop their practice. As a trainee health care professional, I have learnt the importance of reflection in
There are many variables that influence the success of therapy for the client, none more so than the therapeutic relationship. The therapeutic relationship is defined as the strength and collaborative relationship between the client and therapist that emphasises mutually agreed goals and tasks within the context of a strong affective bond (Horvath, 1994.) In the therapeutic relationship, the clinician offers care, touch, compassion, presence, and any other act or attitude that would foster healing, and expects nothing in return (Trout, 2013.) Some clinicians believe that the “therapeutic relationship is a precondition of change, others as the fertile soil that permits change, while others see it as the central mechanism of change itself” (Norcross, 2010.) This is not to devalue other variables that impact the success of the therapy such as client involvement and the treatment method.
Over the course of the term we have looked at basic aspects of counselling and interpersonal skills, how we understand and relate to them as well as how we have experienced them within our counselling triads. Within the Humanistic schools of theory, we have looked at Person-Centred Counselling, Transactional Analysis and Gestalt, under the heading ‘Integrative learning’. This has allowed me to identify my own preferences and strengths in relation to each theory and apply them in learning triads. I shall also be focussing on interpersonal skills of a more generic nature, and how they can be applied to ease, encourage and explain interactions. Repeatedly this term I have found myself fascinated with the importance of the ‘Therapeutic
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
This first topic will be a reflection of content that has been applied to and the strengths of the roleplay. The very start of the therapy process from the point to meeting a client is very important to engage the therapeutic alliance (Wener, et al., 2015, p. 312). A way to start engaging with the alliance is by presenting an open and respectful manner to the client, during the role play this initial phrase was
The goals for this session were stated in the beginning of the video. Julie was concerned about Jennifer’s behavior when she gets mad.