Relational Ecology

Extensive empirical literature has documented the importance and stability of the therapeutic alliance on psychotherapy outcomes. Little research has focused on the relational experience clients have with the administrative staff at outpatient mental health clinics. We have developed a relational ecology framework that draws on relational psychoanalysis, attachment theory, and symbolic anthropology to delineate how a broader systemic alliance may influence client psychotherapeutic outcomes.

A theoretical paper, Relational Ecologies of Psychotherapy: The Influence of Administrative Attachment on Therapeutic Alliance, and a pilot study, Relational Dynamics between Psychotherapy Clients and Clinic Administrative Staff: A Pilot Study, have been published in Psychoanalytic Practice. Findings from this pilot study indicate that the quality of the alliance with administrative staff was related to client ratings of treatment outcomes, even when the therapist-client therapeutic alliance was taken into consideration.

Find the full citation in our Effective Psychotherapy and Clinical Services publications list.