Therapuetic Alliance in Family Therapy
Therapeutic Alliance in Family Therapy
Therapeutic Alliance in Family Therapy Therapeutic alliance is the working relationship between the client and the professional. It focuses on the task, goals and bond between the client and professional. The client and professional agree on homework assignments that would lead to success in goals of what the client hopes to achieve in therapy. At this point, the client and the professional have begun to build a trusting relationship that would guide the client in the achievement of goals in therapy. There are two systems of therapeutic alliance: client systems and therapist systems. (Kilpatrick and Holland, 2009) Client systems consist of people involved in the problem. Therapist systems involve everyone attempting to resolve the client’s problem. (Kilpatrick and Holland, 2009) In each level of family therapy, the therapist maintains an alliance with each family member so there is no isolation of family members. (Kilpatrick and Holland, 2009) Therapeutic alliance is established in a safe environment that encourages honest and opened dialogues.
Building a Relationship with Family Members: The most important part of therapy is the relationship between the professional and the client. It is imperative for the client and professional to have a healthy relationship in order to assist in resolving the presenting problem. There are some characteristics that a professional must display, such as, empathy, respect, genuineness, and warmth. These characteristics assist the client in trusting the professional, so that there can be a willingness in the client to be honest with the professional. The willingness of the client will then lead to the client being able to trust the profession with the agreement of task and goals. With the characteristics that the professional must inhabit in order to have a working relationship with the client can set the mood for the therapy session, without these components, the therapy session can
Therapeutic Alliance in Family Therapy Therapeutic alliance is the working relationship between the client and the professional. It focuses on the task, goals and bond between the client and professional. The client and professional agree on homework assignments that would lead to success in goals of what the client hopes to achieve in therapy. At this point, the client and the professional have begun to build a trusting relationship that would guide the client in the achievement of goals in therapy. There are two systems of therapeutic alliance: client systems and therapist systems. (Kilpatrick and Holland, 2009) Client systems consist of people involved in the problem. Therapist systems involve everyone attempting to resolve the client’s problem. (Kilpatrick and Holland, 2009) In each level of family therapy, the therapist maintains an alliance with each family member so there is no isolation of family members. (Kilpatrick and Holland, 2009) Therapeutic alliance is established in a safe environment that encourages honest and opened dialogues.
Building a Relationship with Family Members: The most important part of therapy is the relationship between the professional and the client. It is imperative for the client and professional to have a healthy relationship in order to assist in resolving the presenting problem. There are some characteristics that a professional must display, such as, empathy, respect, genuineness, and warmth. These characteristics assist the client in trusting the professional, so that there can be a willingness in the client to be honest with the professional. The willingness of the client will then lead to the client being able to trust the profession with the agreement of task and goals. With the characteristics that the professional must inhabit in order to have a working relationship with the client can set the mood for the therapy session, without these components, the therapy session can
References: Kilpatrick, A. and Holland, T. (2009). Working with Families: An Integrative Model by Level of Need. (5th ed). Boston. Pearson Education, Inc.