The therapeutic relationship and the training of the Adlerian analyst

Abstract

Through the examination of several clinical cases, the basic assumption that the main tool of therapy is the personality and training of the therapist himself, as well as the way he conducts himself in the therapeutic relationship, is explored in depth. The concept of the therapeutic couple cannot, in fact, be separated from a mutual selection between analyst and analysand. The importance of the interpretative use of countertransference and self-analysis as a fundamental part of the treatment process is therefore discussed, in addition to the tool of supervision aimed at testing the analyst's ability to relate to the patient from a therapeutic perspective. This is followed by reflections on the nature of the analyst's motivation, the function of empathy, and the need to balance emotional involvement and control in a process where both parties will be transformed