COMPONENTS OF THE PSYCHOTHERAPY RELATIONSHIP - THEIR INTERACTION AND UNFOLDING DURING TREATMENT

C. J. Gelso and J. A. Carter (1985) suggested that all counseling and psychotherapy relationships, regardless of theoretical orientation, consist of three components: a working alliance, a transference configuration (including therapist countertransference), and a real relationship. Drawing on theoretical and research literature and using clinical examples, this article offers 19 propositions about how these three relationship components interact with one another, how each operates across the course of psychotherapy, and how they affect the treatment in both brief and longer term therapies.