About

Charles J. Gelso received his doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology from Ohio State University in 1970. He worked at a counseling center for 12 years before joining the University of Maryland's Department of Psychology as a full-time professor in 1982. He became an Emeritus Professor in 2013. His theoretical, research, and clinical interests focus on the patient-therapist relationship in psychotherapy. Gelso has theorized that all therapeutic relationships consist of a working alliance, a personal or 'real' relationship, and a transference-countertransference configuration, rooted in psychoanalytic theory. He has empirically studied all elements of this tripartite model and has written extensively on the subject, including books on countertransference and the real relationship, as well as a recent publication on the operation of the tripartite model in psychotherapy practice. Additionally, Gelso's main area of interest is research training in applied psychology, particularly clinical and counseling psychology, where he developed a theory of training ingredients that facilitate graduate students' research engagement and self-efficacy. He has conducted individual psychotherapy throughout his career, currently practicing in a psychodynamic approach with integration of other theories. As an educator, Gelso aims to both inform and stimulate students through engaging lectures and discussions, and he was awarded the Society for Advancement of Psychotherapy's Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching and Mentoring in 2016. His research philosophy emphasizes paradigmatic diversity, the importance of theory testing, and the value of multiple methodologies, including qualitative research, to advance scientific knowledge.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Psychotherapist
• Psychology
• Philosophy
• Epistemology
• Clinical psychology
• Medicine
• Applied psychology
• Social psychology

Selected publications

• Real Relationship Inventory-Client--Short Form

  PsycTESTS Dataset · 2025-01-01

  dataset
  PublisherDOI

• A tripartite model of the psychotherapy relationship: Interrelations among its components and their unfolding across sessions.

  Psychotherapy · 2024-03-18 · 6 citations

  articleSenior author

  The tripartite model of the therapy relationship, which includes the working alliance, real relationship, and transference-countertransference configuration, has been a useful way to conceptualize the complexity of the connection between a therapist and a client. However, little research has focused on the interrelationships between these three components over time. This study sought to replicate the findings of Bhatia and Gelso (2018) by examining the between-person relationships among each of the three elements averaged across all sessions. Additionally, we extended earlier work by examining the within-person relationship between the working alliance, the real relationship, and transference-countertransference with themselves as well as with each of the other elements across sessions. Using 5,931 sessions across 142 clients and 36 therapists, we examined time-ordered associations among the cocreated working alliance, cocreated real relationship, and the therapist-rated transference-countertransference configuration using latent variable dynamic structural equation modeling. Results replicated the findings of Bhatia and Gelso (2018), demonstrating that in one session, the working alliance and the real relationship were positively related, and both the working alliance and the real relationship were negatively related to the transference-countertransference configuration. Regarding the interrelations over time, the findings revealed that the working alliance in the previous session had a significant and positive relationship with real relationship in the current session, and the real relationship in the previous session was related to reduced transference-countertransference in the current session. These findings provide support for complex interrelations among the components over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Development and validation of an 8-item version of the Real Relationship Inventory–Client form

  Psychotherapy Research · 2024 · 16 citations

  • Psychology
  • Psychotherapist
  • Applied psychology

  OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a very brief version of the 24-item Real Relationship Inventory-Client (RRI-C) form. METHOD: = 434) completed the RRI-C along with other measures. Psychometric scale shortening involved exploratory factor analysis, item response theory analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and multigroup CFA. Reliability and convergent and discriminant validity of the scale and subscales were also assessed. RESULTS: = .96); and excellent convergent and discriminant validity with measures of other elements of the therapeutic relationship, personality characteristics, current mental health state, and demographic-clinical variables. Clinical change benchmarks were calculated to serve as valuable tools for both research and clinical practice. CONCLUSION: The RRI-C-SF is a reliable measure that can be used for both research and clinical purposes. It enables a nuanced assessment of the genuineness and the realism dimensions of the real relationship.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Therapy Relationship

  PsycTHERAPY Dataset · 2023-05-29

  dataset1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Transference and client attachment to therapist in psychodynamic psychotherapy.

  Psychotherapy · 2023-05-11 · 6 citations

  articleSenior author

  Although there are theorized connections between client transference and their attachment to their therapists (Bowlby, 1969/1982), limited empirical research exists examining their association over the course of psychotherapy. We thus examined the association between positive and negative transference and client attachment to therapist across the course of open-ended psychodynamic psychotherapy for 49 cases with doctoral student therapists and adult community clients who had at least 32 sessions. Using a Bayesian multilevel structural equation model framework, results indicated that client secure attachment increased and avoidant-fearful attachment decreased across the course of psychotherapy. For clients with higher preoccupied-merger attachment at the beginning of therapy, therapists perceived more fluctuation in negative transference over time than for clients with other attachment styles. Implications for research, practice, and therapist training are offered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• Psychodynamic and relational psychotherapies.

  American Psychological Association eBooks · 2023-11-13 · 1 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• The sister concepts of working alliance and real relationship: A meta-analysis

  Counselling Psychology Quarterly · 2023 · 27 citations

  • Sociology
  • Psychology
  • Social psychology

  The real relationship and working alliance are considered sister concepts, because, even though they are distinct elements of the therapeutic relationship, they seem to be highly interrelated, especially regarding the bond element of the relationship. Both concepts are considered to contribute significantly to the therapy outcomes, but some questions remain regarding their relationship, similarities, and conceptual differences. The present study aimed to examine the association of real relationship and working alliance across studies and analyze their contribution to treatment success. For this purpose, we conducted a meta-analysis on these two constructs and performed a quantitative analysis to differentiate the contribution of real relationship and working alliance for psychotherapy outcomes. Results from the meta-analysis confirmed the theorized association between real relationship and working alliance, revealing an overall correlation of r = .66. Based on our quantitative analysis, real relationship seems to be as good a predictor as the working alliance, although both benefit from each other. The research findings underline the importance of considering the contribution of these two concepts for therapeutic outcomes. Therapists should pay attention to both real relationship and the working alliance as key factors that improve therapy success.

  PublisherDOI

• Development and validation of an 8-item version of the Real Relationship Inventory–Client form

  2023-09-07 · 2 citations

  preprintOpen access

  Objective: To develop and validate a very brief version of the 24-item Real Relationship Inventory–Client (RRI-C) form.Method: Individual psychotherapy patients (N = 700) completed the RRI-C along with other measures. Psychometric scale shortening involved exploratory factor analysis, item response theory analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability and convergent and discriminant validity of the scale and subscales were also assessed.Results: The 8-item Real Relationship Inventory–Client Short Form (RRI-C-SF) preserves the two-factor structure: Genuineness (k=4, α=.87) and Realism (k=4, α=.86), which were correlated at r=.75. CFA provided the following fit indices: X2/df=4.88, CFI=.98, TLI=.97, RMSEA=.07, and SRMR=.03. The RRI-C-SF demonstrated high reliability (α=.91); high correlation with the full-length scale (r=.96); and excellent convergent and discriminant validity with measures of other elements of the therapeutic relationship, personality characteristics, current mental health state, and demographic-clinical variables. Clinical change benchmarks were calculated to serve as valuable tools for both research and clinical practice.Conclusion: The RRI-C-SF is a reliable measure that can be used for both research and clinical purposes. It enables a nuanced assessment of the genuineness and the realism dimensions of the real relationship.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The client’s function in the psychotherapy relationship: What clients experience and contribute.

  American Psychological Association eBooks · 2022-01-01 · 3 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• An introduction to counseling psychology.

  American Psychological Association eBooks · 2021-08-02 · 2 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Clara E. Hill

  University of Maryland, College Park

  29 shared

• Elizabeth Nutt Williams

  North Carolina State University

  26 shared

• Dennis M. Kivlighan

  20 shared

• Jeffrey A. Hayes

  18 shared

• Bruce R. Fretz

  18 shared

• Jairo N. Fuertes

  Adelphi University

  14 shared

• Elizabeth Williams

  9 shared

• Lewis Z. Schlosser

  8 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Clinical Psychology

  University of California, Los Angeles

  1976

• M.A., Clinical Psychology

  University of California, Los Angeles

  1973

• B.A., Psychology

  University of California, Los Angeles

  1971

Awards & honors

• Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching and Mentor…