PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF INTERPERSONAL TRUST IN THE THERAPIST–CLIENT SYSTEM

Abstract

The article examines the psychological phenomenon of interpersonal trust and analyzes its specificity within the “psychotherapist–client” system. The relevance of the study has been determined by the fact that the effectiveness of the psychotherapeutic process largely depends on the therapist’s ability to establish interpersonal trust, which requires a high level of professional awareness, empathy, emotional stability, and the capacity to create a safe space for the client, ensuring openness, support, and deep engagement in therapy. It has been identified that interpersonal trust performs a key regulatory function in human interaction, facilitating openness, reducing psychological barriers, and creating conditions for constructive relationships. It has been clarified that the formation of trust as a psychological state is influenced by a combination of factors: personal beliefs, emotional reactions, individual and hereditary experience, adaptive capacities, and the level of intellectual development. The structure of interpersonal trust has been described in three interrelated aspects – cognitive, behavioral, and affective. It has been established that in the professional activity of psychologists and psychotherapists, trust acquires particular significance, as it determines the client’s readiness for self-disclosure, acceptance of recommendations, and engagement in potentially risky situations. It has been shown that authentic therapeutic contact serves as a fundamental condition for effective psychotherapy, promotes the reinterpretation of experience and integration of new meanings, and contributes to the formation of the client’s personal and social identity. The factors influencing the establishment of a trustful interaction have been outlined: the significance of the information disclosed by the client, the sense of psychological safety, therapist empathy, and the absence of manipulative influence. Special attention has been paid to the Gestalt therapeutic approach, in which trust is considered a prerequisite for authentic “here-and-now” encounters and a central mechanism for positive change. It has been emphasized that an insufficient level of trust may lead to the formalization of the therapeutic process and reduce its effectiveness.