Negotiating the Therapeutic Alliance: A Relational Treatment Guide

A half-century of psychotherapy research has shown that the quality of the therapeutic alliance is the most robust predictor of treatment success. This practical, theoretically sophisticated book provides a systematic framework for negotiating ruptures in the alliance and transforming them into therapeutic breakthroughs. The book is grounded in recent developments in relational psychoanalysis, as well as findings from the authors' highly regarded research program. Chapters spell out clear principles of intervention illustrated with extensive clinical vignettes and transcript material. Particular attention is given to the therapist's inner processes and the role they play in resolving alliance ruptures. Other topics covered include the use of therapist self-disclosure and metacommunication; interactional patterns of successful therapist-patient dyads; applications to short-term treatment; and guidelines for training and supervision.

About the Author:

Jeremy D. Safran, PhD, is Professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research, where he was formerly Director of Clinical Psychology. He is also Senior Research Scientist at New York's Beth Israel Medical Center. He is the author of Widening the Scope of Cognitive Therapy, coauthor of Emotion in Psychotherapy and Interpersonal Process in Cognitive Therapy, and coeditor of Emotion, Psychotherapy, and Change and The Therapeutic Alliance in Brief Psychotherapy. He is an advisory editor for Psychotherapy Research, Journal of Clinical Psychology, Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, and several other journals, and maintains a private practice in New York City.

J. Christopher Muran, PhD, is Chief Psychologist and Director of the Brief Psychotherapy Research Program at Beth Israel Medical Center, where he maintains a private practice. He is also Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed a fellowship in cognitive-behavioral therapy at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, as well as analytic training in the New York University Postdoctoral Program. He received the Early Career Award from the Society for Psychotherapy Research, and serves as an advisory editor for Psychotherapy Research. He is the coeditor of The Therapeutic Alliance in Brief Psychotherapy and editor of the forthcoming Self-Relations in the Psychotherapy Process.