Recollections of a secure base in psychotherapy: considerations of the real relationship

Empirical research has recently addressed the real or personal relationship between patients and psychotherapists. The present study examined the interrelations of client attachment security, recollections of real relationship, and client attachment to therapist in a sample of 143 college students who had completed at least five sessions of previously terminated psychotherapy. As expected, client-rated real relationship was found to have positive associations with both client attachment security and security of client attachment to therapist. Additional associations were found between client attachment and avoidant attachment tendencies to therapist. The possibilities for future research expanding on these results are discussed.