The concept of the real or personal relationship between client and therapist has existed since the earliest days of psychotherapy. Yet the real relationship-with its twin components of genuineness and realism has often been misunderstood or ignored. Instead, psychotherapy research has focused largely on the concepts of the working alliance and of transference and counter-transference. In this engaging book, Charles J. Gelso argues the case for the relevance of the real relationship to successful therapeutic outcomes.