ABSTRACT
The approach and process of contracting can be reparative in itself. In forming a contract, there is no need to get caught up in ‘doing it right’ or attempting to create the perfect contract. Developing a treatment contract with a client generally progresses through several stages of specificity. Each stage of contracting is revisited and developed through the course of the therapy. At each stage the contract was ‘good enough’. Each of these contracts may also be successively refined to include specificity and observable changes or actions as the work progresses and the client gains in awareness and vision. Working with progressive contracts such as these also allows for earlier termination of the therapy. In the case of a therapist establishing a loose contract with the intention of progression and refinement later in the therapy, it is important that the therapist regularly checks the existing contract and discusses any suggested amendments to the contract with their client.
