Does therapeutic alliance help “in search for meaning?” Experiences of working through a “Trilogy”
Background: Therapeutic alliance has been the 'Holy-Grail' of doctor patient relationship but is most discussed in relation to psychotherapy. At times in an individual therapeutic scenario it has been conceptualized as a working alliance to a collaborative plan but more than that it influe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | http://www.indjsp.org/article.asp?issn=0971-9962;year=2022;volume=38;issue=1;spage=7;epage=11;aulast=Basu |
| Summary: | Background: Therapeutic alliance has been the 'Holy-Grail' of doctor patient relationship but is most discussed in relation to psychotherapy. At times in an individual therapeutic scenario it has been conceptualized as a working alliance to a collaborative plan but more than that it influences the lives of the clients and the therapists alike. Aims and Objectives: Understanding therapeutic alliance and its influence on the client and the therapist. Materials and Method: Three interrelated cases scenarios and the therapeutic alliance has been allegorized through the Shakespearian perspective. Results: In this exposition, a trilogy of three interrelated therapeutic case scenarios culminates in the existential framework. The first gentleman was a middle aged physician who had everything in life and at the end was drinking heavily as he had nothing else to do. In the second a soldier who fought bravely for his country but received no recognition and in lieu lost an arm in an conflict with the insurgents. Thereafter he found drinking as the only way forward. In the third case a gentleman who had alcohol dependence could quit alcohol unlike the other two. The main driving force of the latter was to do something for his son – this 'search for meaning' was lacking in the previous two. In the course it was seen that therapeutic alliance not only influences the life perspectives of the clients but also the therapist alike through an interplay of transference and counter transference. Conclusion: The influence of therapeutic alliance is not only limited to some narrow therapeutic scenarios but extends beyond in a much broader sense. |
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| ISSN: | 0971-9962 |