Therapeutic Alliance in Psychotherapy, the Essay

The care giver must ask questions that will elicit helpful answers in establishing the goals of treatment. Good listening skills do not only refer to asking the correct questions. The care giver should also display an attitude of attentive listening while the client is speaking. He or she should do this by letting client finish what he or she is saying before speaking again, and by asking for clarification or verification where these are necessary. The client will then experience a sense that his or her problems and concerns are important to the therapist and that appropriate help will be offered.

Another influencing factor is the ability to establish good are giving goals. This should be done in collaboration with the client, based upon the initial conversation where the client's challenges were discussed. When this connection between the initial conversation and treatment goals is made, the client is made to feel that his or her well-being is a serious concern for the care giver, and that the best effort will be made on the behalf of the client.This will further enhance the trust established in the first conversation.

Finally, at all times, the care giver must display an attitude of caring and understanding. Old age can be a very difficult stage, creating uncertainty, unhappiness, and often physical or mental pain. To establish and maintain long-term trust, the care giver is obliged to display an attitude that will create sufficient trust in the client to discuss these challenges freely. This is a fundamental factor that influences the success of the care giving or therapeutic relationship.

In psychotherapy or care giving, the therapeutic alliance is vital to help both therapists and clients achieve the goals they have established for the therapeutic process. In old age, great comfort might be expected from such a relationship, where a care giver becomes a person the client can rely on for the best possible service even in the worst of times......