ABSTRACT
We view the psychotherapeutic relationship as co-created at a conscious, explicit, verbal level and at a non-conscious, implicit, non-verbal level of experience. In the process of developing a therapeutic relationship, the therapist may engage in different relationship stances or modes of relating with the client. These different relationship dimensions were ®rst outlined by Gelso and Carter (1985) who identi®ed the working alliance, the person-to-person relationship and the transference relationship. Clarkson (1989) added to these the developmentally needed or reparative relationship and the transpersonal relationship and then provided a detailed discussion of these `®ve relationships in therapy'. To these we have added the representational relationship. It is these six relationship modalities that we will review below.
