The Therapeutic Covenant: A Psychotheological Pathway to Dynamic Engagement

Abstract

Covenant language resides at the heart of all great spiritual journeys. The covenant is rigid and flexible, secure and dangerous, constant and ever changing. On the surface a covenant can be understood as an agreement between the client and the therapist. Beneath the surface lies the dynamic nature of the covenant, a nature based on the emotional quality a client brings, couple with the therapist capacity to support emotional integrity in the process of covenant development. In its simplicity the covenant becomes the guiding force that leads the client and therapist into the complex world of the unconscious. This article seeks to access the theological and psychological ramifications of integrating covenant theory into the psychotherapeutic process. Herein we encounter a dynamic that animates change in the client while at the same time making significant demands upon the therapist.