A Tripartite Learning Conceptualization of Psychotherapy: The Therapeutic Alliance, Technical Interventions, and Relearning

One problem in conceptualizing the various explanatory factors in psychotherapy has been the lack of a common theoretical language by which to construe these various aspects of treatment. This article integrates a broad range of theoretical contributions within the wider context of a learning theory perspective of essential psychotherapeutic processes. A tripartite model of psychotherapy is outlined that incorporates the contributions of the emotional learning that takes place in the therapeutic alliance, the cognitive aspects of the therapist’s technical interventions that are intended to accelerate change, and the behavioral elements of relearning that take place in the patient’s world beyond the consulting room.