In essence it is the ability to relate to others in a way that creates a level of trust and understanding, generating a relaxed and positive relationship.
If I don’t have rapport with my client there is little point attempting to work with them. Building it is a skill learnt over many months. Building this rapport starts during the consultation and continues throughout our relationship. I have learnt far more about computer games, unicorns, football and all manner of things in attempts to gain rapport.
The building of rapport continues during the first couple of sessions where we do good work, and I learn more detail of the challenges facing my client ready to address the challenges more specifically. It never stops though. On the rare occasion when rapport has been lost and can not be re established it is time to reconsider whether you are the right therapist for the client, this, fortunately, has happened to me only once.
With rapport built it is unlikely that there will be topics that are out of bounds. With rapport built the therapy can proceed without restraint most often to a successful conclusion.
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