The Helping relationship is a crucial element of therapy. It can also be referred to as the therapeutic, or working alliance. The following is an except of a paper I wrote on the importance of this special relationship:
"The Key to Successful Counselling: The Working Alliance in Practice
Research has shown that the working alliance is essential for successful therapeutic outcomes (Castonguay, et al., 2006;Horvath, 2006; Bordin,1979). As relationships are believed to be “a major avenue for bringing about change” (Johnson & Wright, 2002, p. 257), there has been much emphasis placed on the importance of studying and utilizing the working alliance in counselling practice. The focus of this paper will be on the working alliance, its usefulness in the counselling environment and my integration of this concept into my own work as a counsellor. This paper will begin by reviewing the literature related to the working alliance, and then proceed to describe my own integration of the working alliance construct. It will conclude with a description of the micro-skills model, introduced in the course Developing and Sustaining a Working Alliance, at the University of Calgary.
The working alliance (also referred to as the therapeutic alliance) can be defined as the professional relationship between client and counsellor. It encompasses three main components as outlined by Hiebert & Jerry (2004): mutually agreed upon goals, mutually agreed upon tasks necessary to reach those goals, and a collaborative relationship of trust and respect. Emphasis must be place on the importance of this alliance, because without these components, the counselling process will not be successful (Bordin, 1979). "
In our Working Alliance Skills course, we were introduced to basic counselling skills, a necessity for any counsellor in training to learn. These skills consist of:
We were also introduced to the Model of the Working Alliance, a helpful image to demonstrate the counselling process:
As essential as the basic counselling skills are, I see therapy as a much more complicated process. It cannot simply be simple techniques applied during a session.
I see the therapeutic relationship as so much more than just two people talking. I see it as a transformative experience, and one that consists of very specific skills used by the counsellor. Here is a discussion board post from our Working Alliance Skills Course:
"I believe that Rogers' (2007) model of necessary and sufficient conditions is compatible to the working alliance model presented in this course. Rogers focused mainly on the conditions between counsellor and client, thus emphasizing the elements therapeutic relationship (i.e. Client is incongruent, counsellor is congruent, counsellor has empathetic understanding for client, client perceives this empathetic understanding). "
The core of my work with clients is based on Rogers' necessary and sufficient conditions. Here is an article for more information:
References:
Bordin, E. S. (1979). The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance. Psychotherapy: Theory, research and practice, 16(3), 252 – 260.
Castonguay, L., Constantino, M. J., & Holtforth, M. G. (2006). The working alliance: Where are we and where should we go? Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 43(3), 271-279.
Hiebert, B. (2001). Creating a working alliance: Generic interpersonal skills and concepts. Calgary, AB: University of Calgary.
Hiebert, B. & Jerry, P. (2004). The working alliance concept. Calgary. AB: University of Calgary.
Johnson, L. & Wright, D. (2002). Revisiting Bordin’s theory on the therapeutic alliance: Implications for family therapy. Contemporary Family Therapy 24(2).
Horvath, A. O. (2006). The alliance in context: Accomplishments, challenges, and future directions. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 43(3), 258-263.
Rogers, C. R. (2007). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 44(3), 240-248)
Bordin, E. S. (1979). The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance. Psychotherapy: Theory, research and practice, 16(3), 252 – 260.
Castonguay, L., Constantino, M. J., & Holtforth, M. G. (2006). The working alliance: Where are we and where should we go? Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 43(3), 271-279.
Hiebert, B. (2001). Creating a working alliance: Generic interpersonal skills and concepts. Calgary, AB: University of Calgary.
Hiebert, B. & Jerry, P. (2004). The working alliance concept. Calgary. AB: University of Calgary.
Johnson, L. & Wright, D. (2002). Revisiting Bordin’s theory on the therapeutic alliance: Implications for family therapy. Contemporary Family Therapy 24(2).
Horvath, A. O. (2006). The alliance in context: Accomplishments, challenges, and future directions. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 43(3), 258-263.
Rogers, C. R. (2007). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 44(3), 240-248)