How Relational Psychotherapy Improves Lives

By Allyson Burke


Psychotherapy is about the connection between a patient and their analyst. Relational psychotherapy looks at how the patient relates to other people when treating their illness. It is a relatively new branch of psychoanalysis but is thought to be a crucial new development.

It was first introduced during the nineteen eighties and was an attempt to recognize the importance of an individual's internal relationships with people. Supporters of the therapy argued that the personality is formed in response to our very earliest relationships with family members and other people we may have come into contact with.

Where relational theory diverges from other methods of psychotherapy is that it does not see the individual's instincts as the primary driver of action. Freud said that these instincts were deep rooted and had nothing whatsoever to do with our experiences. Proponents of relational psychotherapy however, say that a person is driven by the relationships they want to have with other people. Furthermore, they say that people try to recreate their earliest relationships in order to satisfy their needs.

Psychoanalysts who use relational techniques, tend to ignore the Freudian use of free association. Instead they focus their efforts on building a relationship with the patient. They believe that psychotherapy works best when their is a healing relationship. In so doing, they believe they can get rid of a patient's habitual way of relating to others and so heal them.

Therapists look at the friendships which have impacted their client negatively. They look for any patterns within the friendships which are reminiscent of childhood. These childhood experiences are then analyzed in an attempt to understand how they might have affected their client's view of life and of themselves.

These techniques are usually associated with social constructionism. This is the idea that people do not form their ideas about life on their own but with others. There are two crucial parts of it. The first is that we deal with what happens to us by constructing a model in our mind for how we think the world operates. The second is that language is the main way in which we define our world.

A lot of people want better relationships with the people around them. They engage in relational therapy because it helps them overcome stress. They see it as an obstacle to their own happiness and contentment. A lot of therapists believe that seeking out help is a very courageous thing to do because it shows that you are willing to confront your issues. However, you would need to go to at least six sessions to see if the treatment works for you.

The relationship a client has with their therapist is very important in relational psychotherapy. It's crucial that the client's problem is properly understood otherwise the treatment will not work. One danger is that the sessions become about the therapists agenda and not the client's. This is why the sessions need to have an atmosphere of trust. For some people it just does not work and they need to seek an alternative form of therapy.




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