The therapeutic relationship and emotional intelligence
John Hurley, Paul Linsley in Emotional Intelligence in Health and Social Care, 2018
The focus of the therapeutic relationship is very much on the client and his or her needs. Attending to a client’s needs is a skill in itself and comes with practise and experience. The therapeutic relationship is a complex and dynamic process that involves the practitioner trying to help the client make sense of his emotions and what he is going through. This requires an assessment of events, psychological understanding of the situation, and the planning of goals and alternative ways of coping. The perception cannot be universal in the sense that every patient differs and has different attitudes on various life issues and has varied levels of understanding and withstanding capabilities. To succeed, practitioners must pay attention to their clients in individually and culturally appropriate ways (Sommers-Flanagan and Sommers-Flanagan 2004) – such as intuitive and empathic listening, observing verbal and non-verbal communication, patience, and sensitivity to cultural, spiritual and gender differences. This requires the practitioner to be mindful of the way she responds and reacts to what is being said by the client.
Psychological and Behavioral Management Approaches to Chronic Pain
Michael S. Margoles, Richard Weiner in Chronic PAIN, 2019
Choosing a psychotherapist is a very personal decision. The therapeutic relationship is an intimate one in which the patient should feel comfortable. Also, the therapist should be licensed to practice psychotherapy by the state. Currently in California, the following professionals are specifically licensed to practice psychotherapy independently: doctoral-level psychologists, medical doctors, medical doctors with a specialty in psychiatry, clinical social workers, and marriage, family, and child counselors. The latter two groups usually hold master’s degrees in their fields. Lastly, the psychotherapist should have specialized knowledge, training, and experience in the chronic pain area. The extent of expertise is difficult to ascertain in this relatively young but growing specialty area. Perhaps the most direct method would be to discuss with the provider his or her treatment model (medical, integrative, etc.) and to ask about memberships in relevant professional organizations. Such organizations may include local and national pain societies, biofeedback societies, hypnosis societies, behavioral medicine societies, etc. Also ask which specific therapeutic modalities are used in treating chronic pain and the extent of training and experience using each. Although there are no specialty boards certifying individual practitioners, such boards are now being organized and should be operational within the next several years.
Integrating mindfulness into therapy with people who stammer
Trudy Stewart in Stammering Resources for Adults and Teenagers, 2020
Studies since the 1990s have revealed that the strongest predictors of therapy outcome in the psychotherapy field are rooted in the qualities of the therapist and the resulting therapeutic relationship. “It might almost be said that the relationship is the treatment” (Duncan and Miller 2000) (See also chapter 1 Stewart and Leahy). The qualities patients attribute to a positive therapeutic relationship include empathy, warmth, understanding and acceptance (Lambert and Barley 2001). Thus, the challenge to be a more effective therapist is, to a large degree, the challenge of finding ways to help cultivate the qualities shared by excellent therapists. Whilst an SLT working with a PWS is not practising psychotherapy her client who stammers is, nevertheless, being offered a relationship where challenging thoughts, feelings and experiences can be explored and worked with. Bien (2006) comments that the mindful therapist considers diagnosis broadly and sees the person as a whole, looking beyond any label he may come with. A therapist working with a PWS should know the need to look beyond the label, stammering, and the need to understand each unique PWS.
Relational interaction in occupational therapy: Conversation analysis of positive feedback
Published in Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2018
In occupational therapy (OT), as in health care more generally, the therapeutic relationship is the central element of care through which treatment plans are negotiated and most interventions delivered [1–3]. Therapeutic relationship can be conceptualized as ‘a socially defined and personally interpreted interactive process between the therapist and a client’ [3]. In several studies, both clients and clinicians have identified the quality of the therapeutic relationship as the most crucial factor for achieving client satisfaction and good therapy outcomes [4]. The relationship has a significant bearing on treatment outcomes for a wide range of clients’ problems treated in various forms of occupational therapy settings [4–5]. For instance, Eklund [5] studied the role of the therapeutic relationship in the treatment outcomes of psychiatric patients receiving OT in a psychiatric day care unit. She found that patients who had positive relationships with the main therapist showed greater improvement in global mental health criteria and occupational functioning. It has also been shown that a good therapeutic relationship correlates with improvements in occupational performance and a decreased level of psychiatric symptoms [6].
“After Hello”: Exploring Strategies Used by Occupational Therapists Working in Mental Health Settings to Initiate Positive Therapeutic Relationships With Service Users
Published in Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 2022
Mary Evatt, Justin Newton Scanlan
The therapeutic relationship, also referred to as a therapeutic alliance, working alliance, therapeutic rapport or helping relationship, is defined as an intentional relationship established by a health care worker with a service user to promote recovery (Cole & McLean, 2003; Denhov & Topor, 2012; Hewitt & Coffey, 2005; Leach, 2005; Ljungberg et al., 2015a; Palmadottir, 2006; Peloquin, 2009; Taylor, 2008, 2020). In the realm of mental health care this relationship has been researched and described by various authors. Cole and McLean defined a therapeutic relationship as “a trusting connection and rapport established between therapist and client through collaboration, communication, therapist empathy and mutual respect” (2003, p. 49). Leach (2005) further differentiated rapport as a harmonious relationship between the service user and the therapist which is characterized by good communication and an understanding of each other’s feelings, interests, and ideas. Peloquin (2009) described this relationship in terms of the therapist having an awareness of both themselves and the client with the aim of controlling communications and interactions.
Educating the Educators: Determining the Uniqueness of Psychiatric Nursing Practice to Inform Psychiatric Nurse Education
Published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 2020
Jan Marie Graham, Candice Waddell, Katherine Pachkowski, Heather Friesen
Participants reported building the therapeutic relationship through “the ability to provide supportive and empathetic listening”; “the ability to know the client in more personal ways while maintaining boundaries”; as well as “adding understanding and empathy to clients and families”. The importance of the therapeutic relationship to the participants’ practices was consistent with the findings of other scholars, who identified the therapeutic relationship as an essential aspect of mental health nursing and advanced psychiatric nursing practice (Peplau, 1997; Perraud et al., 2006). The therapeutic relationship is strengthened by the psychiatric nurse, who effectively communicates and works with clients to build on their experience and wellbeing (Ljungberg, Denhov, & Topor, 2015; Newman, O'Reilly, Lee, & Kennedy, 2015; Shattell, Starr, & Thomas, 2007).
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