Relationship science and practice in psychotherapy: closing commentary.

In this special section, authors discussed the therapeutic relationship in their respective theoretical orientations. The invited authors defined their relational approaches and identified the most important facets (e.g., alliance, empathy, immediacy) in their particular approaches. In this closing commentary, we remark on the constituent articles, offer a research summary of the contribution of relational behaviors to treatment outcome, and highlight the flourishing convergence of relationship science and practice in psychotherapy. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.