ABSTRACT
In the late 1970s, Ed Bordin (1979) wrote what we consider to be a seminal article in the field of psychotherapy where he introduced a tripartite model of the therapeutic alliance. His argument was that there are three major components of the alliance. First, psychotherapy is goal directed. Second, it takes place within a context of a developing bond or interpersonal relationship. Third, both clients and therapists have tasks to do. In our view all three aspects of the alliance are equally important. However, generally in the psychotherapeutic field, the bond or relationship domain is overemphasized often to the detriment of the goal and task domains.
