5 Keys to Building Therapeutic Rapport
Translated by
ScribdTranslations5 Keys to Building Therapeutic Rapport
Translated by
ScribdTranslationsThe Rapport: 5 keys to create
a trusting environment
What is Rapport? We explain the keys
to generate a good rapport with another
person.
When we talk about psychological therapies, we often tend to
thinking about the techniques that are implemented, the instruments of
evaluation of attitudes and capacities or the approach used in that
specific inquiry.
Of course, these are very important factors when it comes to defining the
type of therapy being attended and what the objectives are
to attend them, but to fully capture the essence of the sessions
In modern psychotherapies, we also need to take into account another
Key issue. It is about the quality of the therapeutic alliance.
established between the patient and the professional.
This is a concept that can also be known as rapport, and
what is used in fields such as Clinical Psychology, NLP even the
I treat patients discharged by nursing staff.
Understanding the meaning of the word
report
The therapeutic rapport is the shared and empathetic understanding of
the different perspectives from which oneself and the other
people address a problem that must be solved by both.
It is a framework of relationships in which an understanding is established.
mutual agreement among various agents with the aim of addressing a problem
collaboratively.
In summary, therapeutic rapport is the psychological tuning between the
therapist and patient that allows the necessary collaboration between
both. Its two fundamental pillars are mutual trust and the
fluid communication (not symmetrical, as the ideal is for the patient to
express much more than the therapist).
Communicating... beyond the consultation
Originally, the word rapport referred to the dynamics of
relationships that should govern the interaction between a healthcare worker or therapist and
their patients. In this way, there are training programs for
mental health professionals and doctors who focus on the
teaching techniques to generate rapport, since it is understood that it is
a fundamental aspect of the effectiveness of the intervention on patients.
However, today this word can also apply to
practically any context in which there is a task that
can be carried out by two people who need to reach
a good level of rapport to achieve it.
In addition, rapport can be understood both as a dynamic of
relationships (that is, something situated in a specific time and space) or
as a technique applied by a therapist (that is, an instrument that
it is part of the repertoire of skills of the professional). However,
these nuances do not alter the nature of what a good must be
report.
Components of rapport
Where there is a good rapport, there are also the three pillars on which
that is based on: coordination (or mirroring), reciprocity and
search for common places.
Coordination
The coordination of mirroring consists of adapting to the rhythm of the other.
person gesturally (capturing the overall essence of their language)
non-verbal and replicating it in a similar way), orally (adapting the tone)
of voice and the rhythm of speech to that of the other person) and, about
everything, emotionally (reflecting one's own emotional state of the
another person to empathize with and at the same time make that empathy evident.
Reciprocity
Showing reciprocity consists of finding ways to correspond.
the contributions of the other person, whether they are actions or
sentences. Traditionally, in psychological counseling, reciprocity is
plasma through active listening, in which the psychologist, despite
to remain quieter than the patient, constantly gives signs of
listen to the other person and react to what they say.
This component of the report varies according to the nature of the work.
collaborative that must be carried out by people.
3. Common places
This factor refers to the need to focus on the
messages and actions towards topics that are of interest to all
the people involved. This is something we often do without
to realize, by gauging the tastes and hobbies of a person that
we just met and ended up talking about something we
it is easy to talk.
This is also done in therapy, although, of course, always with the
objective of the sessions in mind and without straying too far from certain
guidelines and topics to address.
The result of these three factors is the establishment of empathy,
trust and clear communication.
Guidelines for building rapport
Some of the keys for which psychologists and therapists
guidelines for establishing good therapeutic rapport are:
1. Be aware of the importance of the first
printing
Most professionals whose performance largely depends on
of their ability to generate good rapport, they pay special attention to the
time to present oneself to the patient in the proper way. In this way,
From the beginning, a framework of relations is created based more on the
trust that in the lack of it and, on the other hand, the fact that the
A therapist who presents themselves appropriately can help the patient see that
He himself has a prominence that was not expected.
A simple handshake, for example, is enough to make that.
patients become significantly more receptive to the
attention from the psychologist and healthcare staff in general.
2. Make non-verbal and verbal language match
between each other
Generating rapport is largely about minimizing the possible.
distortions in the interpretation of the other's expressions. That's why, it is
it's important to express oneself clearly, without contradictions between
what is said and what is done. For example, inviting a patient to
that explaining your problem while keeping your arms crossed is
something that harms the quality of the therapeutic relationship, as it is emitted a
inconsistent message.
To delve deeper into this important aspect, you can take a look at
look at this article:
The 5 keys to mastering body language
3. Formulate statements without ambiguities
This is one of the guidelines to follow that require good preparation.
of verbal expression. It consists of using accessible and clear language,
without spaces that could lead to double meanings or phrases
unfinished. In this way the other person will not have to exert themselves to
unravel the meaning of what is said, something that could already be
generate rejection.
4. Test the quality of the rapport
Although it may not be noticeable, therapists throw little "trial balloons".
to the patient to test the solidity of the therapeutic relationship.
For example, they can break the mirroring by adopting a very
different from that of the other person or modifying the rhythm of speech to see
if this initiative is imitated. If the patient adapts to these changes, it is
that the rapport is being successfully established.
5. Engage in self-criticism frequently
Psychologists spend a lot of time self-assessing to
discover which dynamics work and which do not when it comes to
to establish a therapeutic relationship with the patient. Therefore, the
the quality of the rapport is improving as the
imperfections of this alliance between psychologist and patient, something that
it happens thanks to the study of oneself.
To summarize
In the consultation, rapport is the therapeutic relationship that moves in
the balance between the difference of the patient - professional roles and
the common goal of collaborating to solve a problem. For the
so, rapport is not exactly a capacity of the therapist nor a
tool that is implemented unilaterally, but rather something that
generate in the dynamics of interactions with the patient.
It is something that must be nourished by both parties, but for which the
The psychologist is especially prepared. Thanks to a blend of
empathy and coherence in what is expressed, a therapist can have
a framework of relationship in which rapport emerges practically
spontaneous.
Depending on the roles that people have to adopt and the
goals to achieve, the good rapport among the agents can give rise
to various types of rapport that adapt to each situation, although
its foundations are always the same.
Bibliographic references:
Casella, S. M. (2015). Therapeutic rapport: the forgotten
[Link] of emergency nursing,41(3), pp. 252 - 154
Dolcos, S., Sung, K., Argo, J. J., Flor-Henry, S., Dolcos, F. (2012). The
power of a handshake: neural correlates of evaluative judgments in
observed social interactions. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 24(12),
pp. 2292 - 2305
Norfolk T., Birdi K., Patterson F. (2009). Developing therapeutic rapport: a
training validation study. Quality in Primary Care, 17, pp. 99 - 106.