Chapter two
The therapeutic alliance is a critically important aspect of CBT. The therapeutic alliance is also called the working alliance, therapeutic relationship, and therapist-client relationship and it is generally collaborative, straightforward, and action-orientated, and geared towards collaborative empiricism (Wright, Brown, Thase, & Basco, 2017). The skills necessary to develop such a relationship with clients takes practice and careful attention. For example, timing when to use empathy can be critical. If empathy is used when a client has not adequate expressed herself, then she may question authenticity. If too little empathy is used, then she may feel that disconnected. As for collaborative empiricism, it is the act of identifying cognitive distortions and maladaptive behavioral patterns in the client to promote rationality and decrease symptoms (p. 30). Being sensitive to the client’s sociocultural background is also important to maintain a good therapeutic alliance. If possible biases are identified, then it is important to address such the biases and work out a plan of action to not let them affect the alliance or the perception of the client. Differences in diagnoses and symptoms may be …show more content…
Transference in CBT provides insight into the client’s patterns of thinking and behaving. Countertransference is important in CBT as well because when clients activate automatic thoughts or schemas in the therapist, they have the potential to influence therapy with the client (p. 41). Although transference and countertransference are not primary mechanism of change in CBT, they can be used when they occur, though they occur more frequently in long-term types of therapy. When transference occurs, it is necessary for the therapist to assess whether or not it is benefiting therapy, and if it should be brought to the attention of the
The therapeutic alliance is a critically important aspect of CBT. The therapeutic alliance is also called the working alliance, therapeutic relationship, and therapist-client relationship and it is generally collaborative, straightforward, and action-orientated, and geared towards collaborative empiricism (Wright, Brown, Thase, & Basco, 2017). The skills necessary to develop such a relationship with clients takes practice and careful attention. For example, timing when to use empathy can be critical. If empathy is used when a client has not adequate expressed herself, then she may question authenticity. If too little empathy is used, then she may feel that disconnected. As for collaborative empiricism, it is the act of identifying cognitive distortions and maladaptive behavioral patterns in the client to promote rationality and decrease symptoms (p. 30). Being sensitive to the client’s sociocultural background is also important to maintain a good therapeutic alliance. If possible biases are identified, then it is important to address such the biases and work out a plan of action to not let them affect the alliance or the perception of the client. Differences in diagnoses and symptoms may be …show more content…
Transference in CBT provides insight into the client’s patterns of thinking and behaving. Countertransference is important in CBT as well because when clients activate automatic thoughts or schemas in the therapist, they have the potential to influence therapy with the client (p. 41). Although transference and countertransference are not primary mechanism of change in CBT, they can be used when they occur, though they occur more frequently in long-term types of therapy. When transference occurs, it is necessary for the therapist to assess whether or not it is benefiting therapy, and if it should be brought to the attention of the