Theme 3: Relationship
| A. Qualified counsellor, advanced qualified counsellor and psychotherapist | B. Advanced qualified counsellor | C. Psychotherapist |
| 3.1. Ability to demonstrate an understanding of the central importance of the role and purpose of the therapeutic relationship within the therapeutic approach | ||
| 3.2. Ability to reflect upon the impact that diversity (including protected characteristics) has upon the relationship and use this understanding in ongoing work | ||
| 3.3. Ability to demonstrate an awareness of how own culture will impact upon the therapeutic relationship | ||
| 3.4. Ability to establish and hold appropriate boundaries and create and maintain a collaborative therapeutic alliance | ||
| 3.5. Ability to recognise and understand issues of power and how these may affect the therapeutic relationship | 3.5.a. Ability to recognise, understand and address issues of power and how these may affect the therapeutic relationship 3.5.b. Ability to continuously reflect on and explore issues of client's or patient’s and therapist’s authority and power in the therapeutic endeavour |
3.5.c. Ability to negotiate issues of power and authority experienced in the inner and outer world of the client or patient as part of the therapeutic process 3.5.d. Ability to communicate about the harm caused by discriminatory practices and aim to reduce insensitivity to power differentials within therapeutic service provision, training and supervisory contexts |
| 3.6. Ability to explore the client's or patient’s expectations and understanding of therapy and the relationship with the therapist | ||
| 3.7. Ability to ensure an understanding of the purpose, nature and process of therapy and the therapeutic relationship, is shared | ||
| 3.8. Ability to establish, sustain and develop the therapeutic relationship | 3.8.a. Ability to critically reflect upon the client's or patient’s process within the therapeutic relationship | |
| 3.9. Ability to recognise how breaks and holidays may affect the therapeutic relationship and process, and make appropriate arrangements for clients or patients to seek support in case of emergency | ||
| 3.10. Ability to recognise and respond to difficulties and conflicts in the therapeutic relationship | 3.10.a. Ability to recognise alliance ruptures and explore with client or patient similarities with other relationship impasses | 3.10.b. Ability to demonstrate the skills and critical awareness of unconscious process and ethical understanding, to work therapeutically with ruptures and difficulties within the relationship |
| 3.11. Ability to make professional arrangements in the event of a sudden or unplanned break or ending and communicate the arrangements to client or patient | ||
| 3.12. Ability to foster and maintain a good therapeutic alliance, and to grasp the client's or patient’s perspective and ‘worldview’: • capacity to recognise and to address threats to the therapeutic alliance • ability to recognise when strains in the therapeutic alliance threaten the progress of therapy • ability to deploy appropriate interventions in response to disagreements about tasks and goals |
3.12.a. Ability to analyse difficulties encountered as part of the therapeutic process to find ways of making progress | |
| 3.13. Ability to clearly communicate about endings with the client or patient and work to ensure these are managed safely and appropriately | 3.13.a. Ability to process and analyse the client's or patient’s attachment style and history of life events when planning an ending | |
| 3.14. Ability to end a session appropriately |