{"id":43812,"date":"2021-07-21T14:57:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-21T18:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=43812"},"modified":"2021-08-05T12:15:26","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T16:15:26","slug":"therapeutic-rapport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/therapeutic-rapport\/","title":{"rendered":"Build Therapeutic Rapport With These Helpful Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>How can you successfully build therapeutic rapport? Why is strong therapeutic rapport key for the progress of a patient?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therapeutic rapport is essential for a successful therapy session. It refers to the relationship of mutual trust between therapist and patient. If rapport is not formed during therapy, patients won\u2019t feel comfortable engaging with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/cbt-exercises\/\">CBT exercises<\/a> and will likely not progress.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keep reading to find out more about therapeutic rapport and how to build it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How to Build Therapeutic Rapport<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A therapeutic relationship that is trusting, empathetic, and collaborative is critical to patient improvement. Here are pointers on how to build strong therapeutic rapport:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Share your conceptualization with the patient constantly, asking whether it \u201crings true.\u201d<ul><li>\u201cOK, I want to make sure I understand. The situation was [this], and your automatic thought was [this]. This thought made you feel [this emotion], so you acted by doing [this]. Did I get that right?\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>When noticing dysphoria during the session (the patient could be remembering something or reacting to the session itself), address it: \u201cYou look upset. What was going through your mind?\u201d<\/li><li><strong>Positively reinforce patients <\/strong>for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/providing-feedback\/\">providing feedback<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s great that you recognized your thinking.\u201d<\/li><li>Positively reinforce patients for making strides in their therapy. For example, when the patient notices <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/negative-automatic-thoughts\/\">automatic thoughts<\/a>, suggests new solutions, or does homework.<\/li><li><strong>Highlight evidence of improvement <\/strong>makes the patient more optimistic that the method is working. Improve the patient\u2019s mood during the session and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/create-a-plan\/\">create a plan<\/a> to feel better during the week.<\/li><li><strong>Emphasize the positive<\/strong>.&nbsp;<ul><li>Elicit patient strengths.<\/li><li>Elicit positive data from the preceding week. \u201cWhat positive things happened since I saw you last?\u201d<\/li><li>Elicit data contrary to their negative thoughts.<\/li><li>Ask what positive data means about the patient.<\/li><li>Give positive feedback on adaptive coping mechanisms: \u201cWhat a good idea.\u201d<\/li><\/ul><\/li><li>Don\u2019t attack the core beliefs too early\u2014this can endanger the alliance. Instead, identify the cognitions that are closest to conscious awareness, then work your way down into core beliefs over time.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Planning Treatment and Structuring Sessions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Most patients feel more comfortable when they know what to expect from therapy and what they are expected to do. CBT sessions are designed to be structured and follow a predictable format each time. If your patient knows what to expect, it will help to build therapeutic rapport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Session agenda at a high level:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Reestablish the therapeutic alliance and collect data. Set and prioritize the agenda together.<\/li><li>Discuss the problems on the agenda. Engage in problem-solving and thereby teach cognitive skills.<\/li><li>Review the session and provide homework.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>During the session, maintain the structure of the session:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Elicit the most important points of the session and make sure those are written down.<\/li><li>If the patient gets off track, interrupt gently to guide the patient on the most helpful agenda items.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How can you successfully build therapeutic rapport? Why is strong therapeutic rapport key for the progress of a patient? Therapeutic rapport is essential for a successful therapy session. It refers to the relationship of mutual trust between therapist and patient. If rapport is not formed during therapy, patients won\u2019t feel comfortable engaging with CBT exercises and will likely not progress.&nbsp; Keep reading to find out more about therapeutic rapport and how to build it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":23330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34,9],"tags":[443],"class_list":["post-43812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","category-psychology","tag-cognitive-behavior-therapy-basics-and-beyond","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Build Therapeutic Rapport With These Helpful Tips - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How can you build therapeutic rapport with a patient? 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