ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book considers how different domains of therapy invite a different theorizing of the therapeutic relationship. It also considers directly the potential value of some psychoanalytic ideas in the systemic context of therapy. The book discusses specifically the concepts of transference, countertransference, and projective identification in terms of their helpfulness for extending systemic ideas around engagement and sequences. It provides a historical perspective in overviewing the ways in which the different systemic-oriented therapies have all sustained the space for empathy in the therapeutic relationship, despite their different practice concerns and techniques. The book reviews the recent shift to the narrative/conversational therapies in the systemic field. It explores the themes in the systemic literature concerning the therapeutic relationship. The book then considers the personal and emotional involvements of both therapist and supervisor in the relationship dilemmas that are presented by clients.
