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Therapeutic Alliance in the Treatment of Eating Disorders

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Encyclopedia of Feeding and Eating Disorders

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Synonyms

Therapeutic relationship; Working alliance; Therapeutic bond; Helping alliance

Definition of Therapeutic Alliance

The therapeutic alliance is one of the most widely discussed concepts in psychotherapy research and clinical practice. Historically, the concept can be traced back to the early writings of Freud, in which he emphasized the importance of patients forming positive attachment to their analysts. Psychodynamic theorists continued to conceptualize the therapeutic alliance, with Ralph Greenson first introducing the term working alliance to describe the collaboration between client and therapist as a distinct, but not independent process, from the transference relationship and the “real” relationship. Over the years, the concept of the therapeutic alliance has transcended psychodynamic theory and numerous definitions and terms have been used (e.g., therapeutic alliance; working alliance; therapeutic bond; helping alliance). Perhaps the most widely used definition is the...

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References and Further Reading

  • Bordin, E. S. (1979). The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 16, 252–260.

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  • Zaitsoff, S., Pullmer, R., Cyr, M., & Aime, H. (2015). The role of the therapeutic alliance in eating disorder treatment outcomes: A systematic review. Eating Disorders, 23, 99–114.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Eating Disorders National Service, London, UK

    Amy Brown

Authors
  1. Amy Brown
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amy Brown .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Tracey Wade

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

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Brown, A. (2015). Therapeutic Alliance in the Treatment of Eating Disorders. In: Wade, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Feeding and Eating Disorders. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_61-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_61-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-087-2

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