Relational Healing: Exploring the Therapeutic Relationship in Trauma Counselling

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dc.contributor.authorStainthorpe, Kimberly
dc.date.accessioned2025-06-25T23:26:25Z
dc.date.available2025-06-25T23:26:25Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractTrauma is a pervasive and complex human experience that fundamentally disrupts individuals' relational capacities. While trauma-focused therapeutic modalities offer structured interventions, they often neglect the nuanced, relational dynamics essential for healing. This capstone project critically examines the therapeutic relationship in trauma counselling, arguing that relational attunement, emotional safety, and therapist-client connection are central, not supplementary, to effective trauma treatment. Through a comprehensive literature review and the proposal of an observational qualitative study involving real-time session analysis and interviews with psychologists and clients, this research identifies the limitations of current clinical practices and training in relational competence. Emphasizing the role of attachment, non-verbal communication, and trauma-informed approaches, the study advocates for a reconceptualization of trauma care: one in which the therapeutic relationship itself is viewed as a primary vehicle for healing. This project contributes to the field by underscoring the urgent need for trauma-specific relational training and a more humanized, connection-centred model of counselling.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11803/3829
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisher.institutionCity University of Seattle (CityU)
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
dc.rightsopenAccess
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/
dc.subjectcounselling
dc.subjectpsychology
dc.subjecttrauma
dc.subjectcomplex trauma
dc.subjecttherapeutic relationship
dc.subjectTtauma-informed care
dc.subjectrelational healing
dc.subjectclinical psychology
dc.subjectattachment theory
dc.subjectemotional safety
dc.subjectrelational competence
dc.titleRelational Healing: Exploring the Therapeutic Relationship in Trauma Counselling
dc.typeCapstone
thesis.degree.disciplineCounselling
thesis.degree.grantorCity University of Seattle (CityU)
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Counselling
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