What is it about?
In this article I explore the role of illusion and disillusionment in the psychotherapeutic relationship, considering them as two of the various polarities through which the psychotherapeutic process develops with its intrinsic ambiguities.
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Why is it important?
Specifically, I consider the dynamic tensions present in every psychotherapy between the psychological contract and all those conscious and unconscious fantasies, daydreams and implicit promises developing in the psychotherapeutic relationship. Focus is not only on patient's needs and desires but on therapist's too.
Perspectives
I consider recent transactional analytic viewpoints, mainly from a relational perspective, that widen the clinical prospects of the psychological contract, and think over my personal experience with two patients.
PhD Valentina Terlato
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Secret Gardens and Dusty Roads: Psychological Levels and Defensiveness in Contracting Between Patient and Therapist, Transactional Analysis Journal, October 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0362153716676773.
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