A review of therapist characteristics and techniques negatively impacting the therapeutic alliance

The present review is a comprehensive examination of the therapist's person al attributes and in-session activities that negatively influence the thera peutic alliance from a broad range of psychotherapy perspectives. Therapist 's personal attributes such as being rigid, uncertain, critical, distant, t ense, and distracted were found to contribute negatively to the alliance. M oreover, therapist techniques such as over structuring the therapy, inappro priate self-disclosure, unyielding use of transference interpretation, and inappropriate use of silence were also found to contribute negatively to th e alliance. In addition, this review reveals how therapist's personal quali ties and use of technique have a similar influence on the identification or exacerbation of ruptures in the alliance.