PSYC 5115 - The Therapeutic Alliance: Phenomenology of the Therapist as Person

2 credit hours
A rich body of writing in philosophy argues that our understandings of truth emerge within an intersubjective and relational context. This course examines the therapist as a co-creator and participant in a therapeutic, potentially healing relationship. In this class, we will examine the person of the therapist, reflecting on our motivations, needs, and concerns as we approach therapeutic work with others. We ask, what is it like for us to be in relationship with this individual at this historical moment, given the personal, gendered, historical, racial and cultural histories we each carry. It will explore how cultural, familial, and oppressive political systems and historical contexts affect who we are as people and how we are with others. We will look at ways that the contexts and communities in which we grew up “live” in our inner world and body, often unformulated. Finally, we will examine how these factors can manifest in the therapeutic relationship, how they may impact the process of creating a therapeutic frame, of setting ethical boundaries, and can shape our ways of being and relating to clients, introducing risks for rupture and bias, as well as opportunities for growth and self-transcendence.

Registration Restriction(s): Majors Only