The Art and Science of Relationship : The Practice of Integrative Psychotherapy

The Art and Science of Relationship: The Practice of Integrative Psychotherapy is an easy-to-read explication of relationally focused integrative psychotherapy/counselling that will be enjoyed by novice and experienced mental health professionals worldwide. Richard Erskine and Janet Moursund illuminate the central role of the therapeutic relationship, and of relationships in general, both in the healing process and in maintaining a psychologically healthy life. They posit that the therapeutic relationship is key to helping clients become integrated or whole, and present both theory and practice to demonstrate this view. The book is divided into three parts: Theoretical Foundations, Therapeutic Practice, and a full verbatim transcript of a therapy session. The book’s unique feature is the linkage of the transcript section with the earlier, theoretical and practice-oriented sections to clearly show how theory can be applied in the consulting room. For virtually every exchange between therapist and patient, the reader is directed back to a discussion of the specific aspect of theory and method that underly the actual words being spoken. The result is theory brought to life, theory brought out of the classroom or the professional workshop and into the real world of ongoing psychotherapy. This book is highly recommended for students and practitioners of psychotherapy, counselling, and clinical psychology, and will be of interest to all those who work in a mental health setting. Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 8 About the authors 12 Preface 14 Introduction 18 Part I: Theoretical Foundations 22 1. Development of integrative psychotherapy 24 The roots and beyond 25 Modern psychotherapies 28 Eclecticism and integration 31 Principles of relationship-focused integrative psychotherapy 32 Relationship 35 Summary 38 2. Script, repression, and contact distortion 40 Schemas and script 42 The function of script 44 Maintaining the script system 46 The consequences of script, repression, and contact disruption 53 The widening spiral 54 Summary 56 3. Relationship and human development 58 The early experience of relationship 59 The concept of relational needs 65 Development and healthy relationships 70 Development and unhealthy relationships 73 Trauma and its consequences 75 Summary 80 Part II: Therapeutic Interventions 82 4. Healing the hurts 84 A set of interlocking systems 84 The role of relationship in the healing process 90 Relationship and the facets of growth and change 96 Accessibility 98 Summary 102 5. Creating a therapeutic relationship 104 Developing therapeutic personhood 107 Symmetry and asymmetry 112 Empathy 115 Summary 122 6. Beyond empathy 124 Attunement 125 Inquiry 141 Involvement 145 Summary 150 7. Beginning the work 152 First-session tasks 152 Establishing a safe working environment 153 The decision to work together 159 The therapeutic contract 161 Saying good-bye 169 Summary 170 8. Moving in 172 Affect and awareness 173 Fear and anxiety 177 Resistance and repression 178 Accessing 185 Summary 189 9. Therapeutic interventions 190 Intervention guidelines 190 Interpretation 193 Enactment and experiment 197 Regression 200 Behavioral interventions 208 Summary 210 10. A focus on relationship 212 Three relational concerns 213 Transference and countertransference revisited 214 Touch 218 Therapist error 220 The juxtaposition response 223 Shame 225 The moment of meeting 226 Summary 227 11. Termination 228 Termination criteria 229 The decision to terminate 231 Preparing for termination 238 Tasks of termination 243 Taking new behaviors out into the world 246 The last session 247 Summary 250 Part III: The Transcript 252 12. The transcript 254 Postscript 276 Transcript linkage index 278 References 284 Name index 298 Subject index 302 Back Cover 308 Reissue of a classic work with updated introduction, this clearly written book is useful for both practitioners and students in psychotherapy and other mental health professions. It focuses on the central role of the therapeutic relationship, and of relationships in general, in the healing process and in maintaining a psychologically healthy life.