Beyond Empathy: A Therapy of Contact-in-relationship

Abstract

Human relationships represent the starting point of Integrative relational psychotherapy, developed by Richard Erskine and his co-workers. The relationships are important for becoming fully human but at the same time can be very traumatic, when they are inappropriate. Therefore the relationship between the therapist and the patient is very important part of the therapy. Three aspects of therapist’s work – inquiry, attunement and involvement – make it possible for therapeutic process to become a healing process for the client, where it is indispensable to understand the relational needs. The keyhole model presents how are these aspects intervened and which is the function of each aspect. The goal of integrative psychotherapy is to integrate the split parts of personality through contact. Through contact with attuned and involved therapist, the client experiences a new kind of relationship, and with that replaces previous automatic beliefs and behaviors. The contact-in-relationship with a therapist provides safety to drop defenses that served as a protection, and can then start to experience and integrate all that the client is and could become.