Constructivist Perspectives on the Relationship in Therapy: What is Left Unsaid

Over the past five decades the relationship in therapy and its impact in diverse forms of helping endeavors has been a subject of extensive research. Most constructivist authors, in spite of their common focus on relationships, seem to be somewhat reluctant to participate in a conversation about the therapist/client relationship “as such.” A review of what has been written about the constructivist view on the relationship associates the effective therapist with the Rogerian virtues of trustworthiness, congruence and positive regard and the constructivists’ relationship is often linked with Buber’s “I-Thou” modality of interaction. I argue that while these descriptions are appropriate, they collectively fail to capture the depth and breadth of what constructivism “knows” about the therapy relationship. I propose that the intersubjective perspective has the potential to offer the missing cohesive and comprehensive framework of the relationship in therapy and invite further conversation on this subject.