Relating in Psychotherapy: The Application of a New Theory

Relating in Psychotherapy: The Application of a New Theory

by JohnBirtchnell (Author)

Synopsis

In John Birtchnell's last book How Humans Relate, he proposed a new theory as the basis for a science of relating. Relating in Psychotherapy explains how the relevance of this theory relates to the practice of psychotherapy. The theory cuts across all schools of therapy, and is a way of describing each school in terms of relating in both the client and the therapist.
The theory is constructed around two major axes; a horizontal one concerning the degree to which we need to become involved with or separated from others, and a vertical one concerning the degree to which we choose to exercise power over others or permit others to exercise their power over us. With numerous clinical examples, John Birtchnell explains how we need to be competet in all four relating positions (close, distant, upper and lower), and argues that people who seek therapy usually lack competence in one or more of them, but through the course of therapy, their relating capabilities can be improved.
Relating in Psychotherapy can have applications in psychotherapy and in couple and family therapy, and will be an invaluable resource for therapists, counsellors and other mental health professionals.

$44.18

Quantity

5 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Edition: 1
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 02 May 2002

ISBN 10: 1583912754
ISBN 13: 9781583912751

Media Reviews
'Birtchnell has developed instruments for measuring incompetence in relating [ ] and gives instances of both research and clinical use of these in a lucid manner that draws the reader like a magnet.' - Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal
Author Bio
John Birtchnell is Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry and Honorary Psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital, London. He is the author of How Humans Relate: A New Interpersonal Theory, (Psychology Press, 1996).