The increased use of and emphasis on managed care, manualized treatment protocols, evidence-based treatments and quick treatments have marginalized the role of the helping relationship in the helping professions. This shift has sparked a debate within the helping professions over whether the helping relationship or technique is primarily responsible for healing and change. The Helping Relationship weighs in on this debate, arguing that healing and change always take place within the context of relationships and that the relationship is more important than the technique. While recognizing the value of techniques, the authors valorize the helping relationship, considering it in unconventional contexts, such as formal education, supervision, and faith communities to show its flexibility and efficacy. This alternative approach adds a new perspective on the helping relationship debate, shedding new light on the roles of relationship and technique in the healing process.

Augustine Meier teaches in health sciences at Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Ontario, is an adjunct research professor in the Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, and a clinical psychologist in private practice.

Thomas St. James O’Connor holds the Delton J. Glebe Chair, Pastoral Counselling and is also the director of pastoral care and counselling at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary. He is an associate clinical professor in family medicine at McMaster University, and was a teaching chaplain at both Hamilton Health Sciences and St. Josephs Health Care in Hamilton, Ontario.

Peter L. VanKatwyk has been involved in therapy practice, clinical education programs, and the pastoral counselling program at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, Waterloo, Ontario.

Augustine Meier's profile page

Martin Rovers is a professor at the Faculty of Human Sciences, Saint Paul University, Ottawa and an American Association for Marriage and Family Therapists Approved Supervisor. He is the author of several books, including Healing the Wounds in Couple Relationships (Novalis, 2005).

Martin Rovers' profile page