How to Know If Relational Therapy Is Right for You

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTechniquesWhat Relational Therapy Can Help WithBenefits of Relational TherapyEffectivenessThings to ConsiderHow to Get Started With Relational Therapy

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Techniques

What Relational Therapy Can Help With

Benefits of Relational Therapy

Effectiveness

Things to Consider

How to Get Started With Relational Therapy

Close

Relational therapy, also known as relational-cultural therapy, is a type of psychotherapy that emphasizes the importance ofrelationshipsand their influence on an individual’s well-being. In relational therapy, the therapist encourages exploration of a person’s interaction with others and how these relationships impact their everyday life.

Therapists usecognitive-behavioralinterventions that are specifically directed toward the understanding of unhealthy thinking habits and behaviors linked to particular relationships.

These techniques can identify recurrent patterns of behavior that are present during interactions with others due to past or current relationships. Thistherapyis also viewed as a way to connect and understand one’srelationship with one’s therapist. In doing so, an individual will also feel comfortable discussing sensitive information related to past and current relationships.

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Techniques of Relational Therapy

Relational therapy involves the incorporation of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychotherapy, along with relational interventions, or ways to understand and change relationships.

Cognitive-Behavioral Techniques

Patients may engage in cognitive-behavioral practices that focus on relationships.This involves learning skills that enable healthy thinking habits related to relationships. Therapists will help patients navigate their thinking patterns that may be associated with specific interactions with people.

For example, if the person has a particular family member who always makes them feel like they are wrong, the therapist will help them explore that reaction and those thoughts and help them change them.

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Psychodynamic Therapy Methodologies

Relational Interventions

Relational interventions are centered on building and strengthening the client’s relationships with friends, family members, colleagues, and possibly the therapist as well. These interventions focus on relationships outside of therapy and consist of activities related to the effects that past relationships have on the person’s present relationships.

The patient may be asked to think of instances that involve a disagreement with a loved one. Together, the therapist and patient explore how this may connect to their childhood.

Some interventions pertain to the patient’s relationship with the therapist. In these types of interventions, therapists might explore possible complacent behavior within therapy. An example of this is saying something just because the patient believes it’s what the therapist may want to hear as opposed to how they actually feel.

In many ways, a person’s relationship with their therapist can mirror their outside relationships. So, working on the therapeutic relationship can also help the patient modify the other relationships in their life.

Coping With Emotionally Draining Friends

Relational therapy can offer benefits and support for those experiencing the below conditions and life concerns:

It also tackles concerns andtraumathat are related to specific relationships, granting healing benefits for individuals with a history of trauma and/or abuse.

This therapy also may offer guidance in how to handle conflict in a variety of social settings and situations, such as the workplace and family gatherings. This kind of therapy can help decipher healthy relationships from those that prohibit self-growth.

Relational therapy, additionally, promotes the development of relationship skills such as patience,self-confidence, andtrust.

This therapy may specifically offer benefits to those with different mental illnesses, such as personality disorders, eating disorders,bipolar disorder,schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

It is also beneficial to those coping with illness, specifically the interactions and relationships involved in managing health, such as the medical team and family members.

The therapist considers the person’s experiences and traits when discussing past relationships and brings these insights to the person so that they can better understand and maintain their relationships. This makes relational therapy beneficial to many people, especially those who have a hard time maintaining and building relationships.

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Jean Baker believed that building connections with others initiated individual growth greater than an emphasis on autonomy.

There is currently not muchscientific literatureassociated with relational therapy. Not many research studies have been conducted to test the reliability of this therapy, but that does not mean it isn’t effective.

A particular research study did, however, use a Relational Work Scale (RWS) to explore patients’ progress in relational therapy.The scale considered the impact of relationship interventions, the timing of interventions, the therapist’s conversational process, and the therapist’s interaction with patients.

Relational therapy has two different definitions that may be considered separate practices:

Although it is often seen as the strengthening of relationship-building skills and addressing issues involving relationships from the past, it can also be defined as building a relationship with one’s therapist, usually in order to model that relationship in the person’s life outside of therapy.

It is important to be clear in what you hope to receive from relational therapy. You must, however, find a therapist that you feel comfortable sharing sensitive information with, so building a professional yet trustworthy relationship with your therapist is also an important factor in relational therapy either way.

If you’re interested in giving relational therapy a shot, here’s what you can do:

3 Key Factors in Healthy Relationships

12 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Banks A.Relational therapy for trauma.Journal of Trauma Practice.2006;5(1): 25-47. doi.org/10.1300/J189v05n01_03

Ulberg R, Ness E, Dahl HSJ,et al.Relational interventions in psychotherapy: development of a therapy process rating scale.BMC Psychiatry.2016; 16 (310). doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-1021-4

Falkenström F, Holmqvist R.Therapist in-session feelings predict change in depressive symptoms in interpersonal and brief relational psychotherapy. Psychother Res. 2022 Jun;32(5):571-584. doi: 10.1080/10503307.2021.1998700. Epub 2021 Nov 11. PMID: 34763615.

Bufford, L. G., & Lappan, S. N. (2023, July 7).Addiction and relational therapy: An efficacious approach - current psychology. SpringerLink. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-023-04843-3

Magnavita, J. J. (2000).Relational therapy for personality disorders.John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Tantillo M.The therapist’s use of self-disclosure in a relational therapy approach to eating disorders.The Journal of Treatment & Prevention.2004;12(1): 51-73. doi.org/10.1080/10640260490267760

Banks, A. (2006).Relational Therapy for Trauma.Journal of Trauma Practice,5(1), 25–47. https://doi.org/10.1300/J189v05n01_03

Dellazizzo L, Giguère S, Léveillé N, Potvin S, Dumais A.A systematic review of relational-based therapies for the treatment of auditory hallucinations in patients with psychotic disorders. Psychol Med. 2022 Aug;52(11):2001-2008. doi: 10.1017/S003329172200143X. Epub 2022 Jul 20. PMID: 35855651; PMCID: PMC9386435.

Watson WH, McDaniel SH.Relational therapy in medical settings: Working with somatizing patients and their families.Journal of Clinical Psychology.2000; 56(8): 1065-1082. doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679

Duffey TH, Somody C. (2011).The Role of Relational-Cultural Theory in Mental Health Counseling.Journal of mental health counseling.2011;33(1): 223-242. doi: 10.17744/MEHC.33.3.C10410226U275647

Hannah Owens, LMSW

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