Pre-Therapy and the Pre-Expressive Self

The necessary condition of a therapeutic relationship is that the therapist and the client be in psychological contact (Rogers, 1957). However, Rogers fails to provide a conceptual or practice definition of “Psychological Contact.’ Furthermore, it is a gratuitous assumption that all clients possess this attribute. Evolving from these issues, Pre-Therapy is a theory of Psychological Contact. It provides a practice description [Contact Reflection] a description of client internal function [Contact Functions] and a description of measurable behaviors [Contact Behaviours]. Its primary application is to ‘contact impaired,’ regressed, low functioning, and chronic clients, such as the developmentally disabled, schizophrenic, dissociated or Alzheimer’s populations.