Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Theories of personal relationships are reviewed to help us understand the therapeutic relationship as a personal relationship: Chambliss's (1965) theory of friendship which focuses on impression management; Kelley & Thibaut's (1978) theory of interdependence and Rusbult's (1980a) investment model of relationship satisfaction and commitment which focus on social exchange processes; and Levinger's (Levinger & Snoek, 1972) incremental exchange theory which focuses on developmental changes in a relationship. Taking these theories into consideration enables us to view psychotherapy as a personal relationship and suggests avenues for research and hypothesis testing. Conversely, the unique characteristics of therapy as a personal but asymmetric relationship also suggest implications for the development of concepts and research on other types of personal relationships.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Altman, I. & Taylor, D.A. (1973) Social Penetration: The Development of Interpersonal Relationships. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.

Berscheid, E. & Walster, E.H. (1978) Interpersonal attraction (2nd ed.) Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Brehm, S.S. (1985) Intimate Relationships. New York: Random House.

Byrne, D. (1971) The Attraction Paradigm. New York: Academic Press.

Chambliss, W.J. (1965) `The Selection of Friends', Social Forces 43: 370-380.

Chelune, G.J. , Robison, J.T. & Kommor, M.J. (1984) `A Cognitive Model of Intimate Relationships', in V.J. Derlega (ed.), Communication, Intimacy, and Close Relationships. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

Derlega, V.J. & Chaikin. A.L. (1977) `Privacy and Self-Disclosure', Journal of Social Issues 33(3): 102-115.

Derlega, V.J. , Margulis, S.T. & Winstead, B.A. (1487) `A Social-Psychological Analysis of Self-Disclosure in Psychotherapy', Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 5: 205-215.

Fisher, K. (1985) `Court Protects Talk within Therapy Session', APA Monitor (October): 32.

10.

Greenson, R. (1965) `The Working Alliance and Transference Neurosis', Psycho-analytic Quarterly 34: 158-181.

11.

Hinde, R.A. (1981) `The Nature and Study of Personal Relationships', in S.W. Duck & R. Gilmour (eds), Personal Relationships 1: Studying Personal Relationships. London: Academic Press.

12.

Kelley, H.H. (1979) Personal Relationships: Their Structures and Processes. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

13.

Kelley, H.H. & Thibaut, J.W. (1978) Interpersonal Relations: A Theory of Inter-dependence. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

14.

Levinger, G. (1980) `Towards the Analysis of Close Relationships', Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 16: 510-544.

15.

Levinger, G. & Snoek, J.D. (1972) Attraction in Relationships: A New Look at Interpersonal Attraction. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.

16.

Margulis, S.T. , Derlega, V.J. & Winstead, B.A. (1984) `Implications of Social Psychological Concepts for a Theory of Loneliness', in V.J. Derlega (ed.), Communication, Intimacy, and Close Relationships. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

17.

Rusbult, C.E. (1980a) `Commitment and Satisfaction in Romantic Associations: A Test of the Investment Model', Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 16: 172-180.

18.

Rusbult, C.E. (1980b) Satisfaction and Commitment in Friendships', Representative Research in Social Psychology 11: 96-105.

19.

Rusbult, C.E. (1983) `A Longitudinal Test of the Investment Model: The Development (and Deterioration) of Satisfaction and Commitment in Heterosexual Involvement', Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 45: 101-107.

20.

Strupp, H.H. & Binder, J.L. (1984) Psychotherapy in a New Key: A Guide to Time-Limited Dynamic Psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books.

21.

Thibaut, J.W. & Kelley, H.H. (1959) The Social Psychology of Groups. New York: John Wiley & Sons.

22.

Watkins, J.G. (1965) `Psychotherapeutic Methods', in B.B. Wolman (ed.), Hand-book of Clinical Psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Understanding the Therapeutic Relationship as a Personal Relationship

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References