Trust in the therapeutic relationship: Psychodynamic contributions to counselling psychology practice

The therapeutic relationship is an important factor in the outcome of psychotherapy, and this has been a factor that underpins the development of counselling psychology. While aspects of therapeutic relationship can be referred to as ‘non-specific’ components of the therapy, there are different ways of understanding these components.This paper focuses on the ‘trust’ aspect of the therapeutic relationship. Psychodynamic theories put the relationship between the client and therapist at the centre of the therapeutic encounter and this relationship is considered to be the vehicle for change. Knowledge of psychodynamic concepts about the therapeutic relationship is crucial for the counselling psychology practitioner to understand what is happening between client and therapist.