Abstract
This thesis addresses the complicated nature of the psychotherapeutic alliance, by attempting to deconstruct what is already in practice. In piecing out the different aspects of the relationship between psychotherapist and client, and referring back to relevant literature, one can understand better the dynamics that exist within the therapeutic encounter. In the process, one can also see how the different principles of different psychotherapy schools fit into what we understand today as the profession of psychotherapy. Considered a profession, psychotherapy is bound to ethics, within which is the question of competence and accountability. The importance of understanding what really happens in a client-therapist meeting that is unique to psychotherapy, and that which leads to therapeutic change, is emphasized in this paper, with case studies from classical texts and referred back to modern day change-process research.
Keywords: psychotherapeutic alliance, psychotherapeutic relationship, psychotherapeutic change, psychotherapeutic process, psychotherapeutic dialogue, I-Thou.
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Helbig_2017_Bachelor_Thesis-nh-s-p