— Overview
A Korean piece written for a police counselling-psychology course takes the therapeutic alliance as a common factor that can decide whether the work does any good. Bordin, in 1979, treated it as pantheoretical: not tied to one school, and made of three parts — agreement on the goals of the work, on the tasks to be done, and an emotional bond between therapist and client. That frame still underpins the Working Alliance Inventory.
The writer then turns to a personal way of building rapport, from a warm manner and a habit of solving problems, and to burnout: a word Freudenberger put into a 1974 paper on staff burn-out, later set out by Maslach and Jackson in 1981 as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a drop in a sense of personal accomplishment. Corey, in 2003, treated the stress of counselling as pressure that belongs to the work itself.
A 2022 master’s thesis by Kang Sae-mi, at the Catholic University of Korea, adds five dimensions of its own, and a burnout of meaning and of care. The writer’s own reliefs — an unplanned trip, an instrument, cooking — are left as they are told.
— Contents and key concepts
Bordin’s alliance: goals, tasks, and a bond
A Korean piece written for a police counselling-psychology course takes the therapeutic alliance as a common factor that can decide whether the work does any good. It is built on a cooperative tie between therapist and client, and it is aimed at reaching the goals of the psychological work with some effect.
Bordin, in 1979, treated the alliance as pantheoretical: not tied to one school, and usable across approaches. He set it out in three parts — agreement on the goals of the work, the carrying-out of the tasks, and an emotional bond between therapist and client. The definition is valued here because it does not stop at a warm feeling exchanged between two people; it asks for a concrete cooperation in the process itself. Clear agreement on goals and tasks, together with that bond, is what is said to improve the outcome. The same frame is still the theoretical base of the Working Alliance Inventory, widely used today.
The alliance, in that sense, is the work of setting aims together, doing the tasks, and seeking a psychological change through trust and a tie between the two people.
Rapport, from a warm manner and a habit of solving problems
The writer then turns to a personal way of building rapport, and names a warm manner and an active habit of solving problems as strengths. People are approached in earnest; their situation is worried over with them, and a way through is looked for. A friend, confused about a career, was heard through to the end. Together they looked at possible paths and made a concrete plan, not only consolation, so that the friend could see the situation more clearly and decide with a little more courage. On another day a stray dog in the street was not walked past. It was moved to a safer spot, fed, and taken, through a call to a shelter, to a steadier place. The point drawn is that a warm feeling is not left as a feeling only; it is followed by an action.
From those habits three strategies are drawn. The first is to keep a positive focus and to listen with empathy, especially in the early stage of an alliance. When a client speaks of a good event or an achievement, the story can be heard in earnest and the value in it passed back, so that a person can find a strength and, it is hoped, a sense of self-efficacy. Empathic listening is also treated as a way of letting feeling be spoken freely. The second is to notice a person’s particular strengths and to adjust the way of talking to them. Rapport, here, is the work of seeing what is already strong in a client, building trust on that, and setting a direction of treatment around it. If a client wants to heal an old wound through forgiveness, a ‘forgiveness letter’ is named as one technique — drawn from Kim Ji-ye’s 2021 master’s thesis at Daegu University, on how a grateful disposition, extraversion, the alliance, and the effect of treatment sit together in positive psychotherapy. Empathic talk is also treated as a way of matching a client’s style and needs. The third is to strengthen the emotional bond and to give constructive feedback: to take a story seriously, and to turn even a weakness or a mistake toward a possible use, so that a person can look at themselves more kindly and grow a little more sure. When a client speaks of a failure, the experience can be named as a chance to learn, and the recovery already in it can be praised.
What burns a counsellor out, and three private ways through
Burnout, in this account, is the state in which a counsellor, through steady work and steady contact with people, is drained mentally, physically, and emotionally. Freudenberger first used the phrase in a 1974 paper on staff burn-out. Maslach and Jackson, in 1981, set it out systematically in three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, in which the mental energy of the work is spent; depersonalization, a cynical turn toward the client; and a drop in a sense of personal accomplishment, in which people judge their own work harshly and lose satisfaction. It is treated as a serious problem, not only for the counsellor’s well-being but for the outcome of the sessions, and as something that needs care and prevention.
Stress, here, is the emotional tension that rises from a client’s demands and from the pressure of the job. Corey, in 2003, treated that stress as pressure that belongs to the nature of counselling itself, and said that if it is not managed it can lead to burnout. Kang Sae-mi’s 2022 master’s thesis, at the Catholic University of Korea, on how a low tolerance for uncertainty bears on a counsellor’s burnout, is cited for a wider frame: burnout is shaped not only by tiredness at work, but by the relationship with the client, by the setting of the job, and by personal traits. The thesis sets out five dimensions — exhaustion, in which body and feeling are so drained that the work cannot be done properly; a negative work setting; a devaluing of the client; a sense of incompetence; and a worsening of private life — and also a burnout of meaning, when purpose is lost and a person feels of no help to anyone, and a burnout of care, when care is given and given and the self is neglected. Self-care, and support from the organisation, are named as what can prevent that. Those readings are left with the 1974, 1981, 2003, and 2022 work.
The writer’s own ways of meeting stress are left as they are told. An unplanned trip, taken when anger or stress has risen, quiets a stirred feeling and rests the mind, the way a meditation might; a mountain, or a long look at the sea, empties a crowded head, and in that quiet a person can speak to themselves and see the situation a little more from the outside. Playing an instrument lets a mood be heard out as a tone; once the playing starts, tangled thought falls away, and the beginning and end of a piece can recall that a bad feeling, like music, is temporary and can pass. Cooking, lately recalled while watching a programme such as Black and White Chef, is a third way: trimming and cooking hold a person in the present, and the pleasure of someone saying a dish is really good becomes a comfort, and a stress eased through another person’s happiness. The same Korean report, at fuller length, is on CampusDown.
Sources
- Bordin, E. S. (1979), on a pantheoretical therapeutic alliance. Working Alliance Inventory (WAI).
- Freudenberger, H. J. (1974), “Staff burn-out.” Maslach, C., and Jackson, S. E. (1981), on emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Corey, G. (2003), on stress inherent in the counselling role.
- Kang Sae-mi, “The effect of a counsellor’s low tolerance for uncertainty on counsellor burnout,” master’s thesis, Catholic University of Korea Graduate School of Counselling Psychology, 2022.
- Kim Ji-ye, “A study of the relations among a grateful disposition, extraversion, the therapeutic alliance, and treatment effect in positive psychotherapy,” master’s thesis, Daegu University Graduate School, 2021.
Last updated: 14 November 2026
Frequently asked questions
What is a therapeutic alliance, in Bordin’s 1979 sense?
It is treated as an important common factor, built on a cooperative tie between therapist and client, and as something that can decide whether the aims of the work are reached. Bordin, in 1979, called it pantheoretical: not confined to one theory, and usable across approaches. He set it out in three parts — agreement on the goals of the work, the carrying-out of the tasks, and an emotional bond between the two people. The definition is valued here because it does not stop at a warm feeling; it asks for a concrete cooperation in the process itself. Clear agreement on goals and tasks, together with that bond, is what is said to improve the outcome. The same frame is still the theoretical base of the Working Alliance Inventory, widely used today. The alliance is, in short, the work of setting aims together, doing the tasks, and seeking change through trust and a tie.
How does the writer propose to build rapport?
The writer names a warm manner and an active habit of solving problems as personal strengths, and offers two small stories. A friend, confused about a career, was heard through to the end; together they looked at possible paths and made a concrete plan, not only consolation, so that the friend could decide with a clearer view and a little more courage. On another day a stray dog was not walked past: it was moved to a safer spot, fed, and taken, through a call to a shelter, to a steadier place. From those habits three strategies are drawn. The first is to keep a positive focus and to listen with empathy, so that a client’s good events and strengths can be heard and named, and so that feeling can be spoken freely; that process is hoped to build a sense of self-efficacy. The second is to notice a person’s particular strengths and to adjust the way of talking to them. If a client wants to heal an old wound through forgiveness, a ‘forgiveness letter’ — drawn from Kim Ji-ye’s 2021 master’s thesis at Daegu University, on gratitude, extraversion, the alliance, and the effect of treatment in positive psychotherapy — is named as one way to let a strength be lived. The third is to strengthen the emotional bond and to give constructive feedback, taking a story seriously and turning even a weakness or a mistake toward a possible use, so that a person can look at themselves more kindly and grow a little more sure.
What is counsellor burnout, and how does the writer meet stress?
Burnout is the state in which a counsellor, through steady work and steady contact with people, is drained mentally, physically, and emotionally. Freudenberger first used the phrase in a 1974 paper on staff burn-out; Maslach and Jackson, in 1981, set it out in three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, a cynicism toward the client called depersonalization, and a drop in a sense of personal accomplishment, in which people judge their own work harshly and lose satisfaction. It is treated as a serious problem, not only for the counsellor’s well-being but for the outcome of the sessions, and as something that needs care and prevention. Stress, here, is the emotional tension that rises from a client’s demands and from the pressure of the job. Corey, in 2003, treated that stress as pressure that belongs to the nature of counselling itself, and said that if it is not managed it can lead to burnout. Kang Sae-mi’s 2022 master’s thesis, at the Catholic University of Korea, on how a low tolerance for uncertainty bears on burnout, is cited for five dimensions — exhaustion, a negative work setting, a devaluing of the client, a sense of incompetence, and a worsening of private life — and for a burnout of meaning, when purpose is lost and a person feels of no use, and a burnout of care, when care is given and given and the self is neglected. Self-care and support from the organisation are named as prevention. The writer’s own ways of meeting stress are an unplanned trip, which quiets a stirred feeling the way a meditation might, with a mountain or a long look at the sea; playing an instrument, so that a mood is heard out and, like a piece of music, is remembered as something that can pass; and cooking, lately recalled while watching a programme such as Black and White Chef, in which the pleasure of someone saying a dish is good becomes a comfort.
Refund policy
- Change of mind / refund requested after partial use / more than 7 days after purchase
◆ Exceptions
- File errors / cannot download or open the file
◆ How to request a refund: send a 1:1 inquiry via Customer Service at the top