Therapeutic Relationship

Elements of a Positive Therapeutic Relationship in Facilitating Human Growth & Development

Elements of a Positive Therapeutic Relationship in Facilitating Human Growth & Development

Introduction

Counselling as a term started being used regularly by the American psychologist Carl Rogers. His major work was on the Humanistic approach to psychology. It was he who made the distinction between therapy and counselling (Rogers, 1951 pp. 20 - 25). Whereas therapy dealt with specific clinically diagnosable issues, therapy was focussed more on the everyday issues. It is said that all healthcare is practised in an environment of patient-physician relationships. The term healthcare is a broad one and the relationship factor counts in most of these branches of healthcare. The patients visit their doctors who administer a regime that enables them to be healthy again. Although, the practitioners of traditional medicine do count the relationship with patients as a factor, it becomes more important in the field of counselling and psychiatry.

The psychiatrists have a special relationship with their patients, and this enables them to communicate freely. This communication is a critical factor and takes many forms. The communication could be person to person or electronic. There are many factors that go towards building that communication bridge. We also have to note that psychiatrists and counsellors are dependent upon this communication bridge, and its absence would create a collapse. This collapse would be of a psychological nature. These professionals deal with day to day problems that could be faced by individuals, groups, couples and families. A timely response to their problems is essential for their everyday functions, and a lot depends on therapeutic relationships (Priebe, et. al 2008 pp. 521 - 526).

In the UK, there are a number of organizations and licensing bodies that have maintained registers of psychotherapists throughout the country. Those organisations include the UKCP or the UK Council for Psychotherapy. A similar organisation is the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. These and other organizations have played a major role in the field and contributed to well-being of the populace.

The objective of this paper would be to analyse the benefits of a therapeutic relationship. We would also study the major factors behind a positive therapeutic relationship and how it contributes towards growth and development of the society. The essay would also look at this relation as an agent for change in current practises. Since many benefit from such services, today, we must take a look at how the current practice of psychotherapy came. Considering the fact that psychology is a fairly old discipline, we need to know the background of these terminologies i.e. Psychotherapy and Therapeutic relationship.

Discussion

History

Indeed, psychology is a quite an old subject that dealt with a theoretical framework of human psychology. Many landmarks were achieved in the field, but the achievement remained on the theoretical front. The work done had no bearing, at least initially on the practical side of things. The population in general was unclear on how these theories on human nature would affect ...