title: Working alliance, therapeutic alliance, and transference.
abstract: Examination of the clinical evidence offered by proponents for the concepts of therapeutic and working alliance leads the author to conclude that neither concept is justifiable. Both refer to aspects of the transference that neither deserve a special name nor require special treatment. The related topic of frustration/gratification as necessarily inherent in the analytic situation is also considered.
mesh_terms: D001364:Awareness; D003243:Consciousness; D004532:Ego; D005201:Fantasy; D006801:Humans; D009497:Neurotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011573:Psychoanalytic Interpretation; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D014167:Transference, Psychology