therapist–patient relationship

the relationship developed in therapy between a psychotherapist and the patient (client) receiving therapy. There has been much theory and research concerning this interaction, particularly how it varies and changes over time and the significant implications that the dynamic has for the way in which treatment is offered and for its outcomes. The relationship has ethical dimensions that are often specified in practice guidelines. See also therapeutic alliance.

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Psychology term of the day

January 13th 2025

reconstructive psychotherapy

psychotherapy directed toward basic and extensive modification of an individual’s character structure by enhancing his or her insight into personality development, unconscious conflicts, and adaptive responses. Examples are Freudian psychoanalysis, Adlerian individual psychology, Jungian analytic psychology, and the approaches of Karen D. Horney and Harry Stack Sullivan.