Books / Humanistic, existential & experiential
The Dynamics of Therapy in a Controlled Relationship
Jessie Taft’s The Dynamics of Therapy in a Controlled Relationship (1933) discusses therapeutic relationships and includes case records involving children.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Jessie Taft
Edition: 1933 Macmillan edition; a Dover edition appeared in 1962
Publisher: Macmillan
Edition year: 1933
Language and origin: English (United States)
Form and genre: Clinical & Theoretical Monograph
Level: Intermediate
Historical era: 1920–1939 · Ego Psychology & Early Child Analysis
Covers: Therapeutic relationships and their limits; Time in the therapeutic setting; Case records involving children
APA 7th reference: Taft, J. (1933). The dynamics of therapy in a controlled relationship. Macmillan.
What it is
Published by Macmillan in 1933, Taft’s book discusses therapy and includes case records involving two children. A 1962 Dover edition followed.
What it covers
Taft considered the therapeutic relationship and the role of limits, including time. The available catalogue and historical sources describe the work; the full book was not reviewed for this entry.
Historical context
A historical article describes how Taft and other Philadelphia social workers developed relationship therapy in dialogue with Otto Rank’s ideas. It also discusses their influence on Carl Rogers’s person-centred psychotherapy.
Reading this record
This is a historical description, not an evaluation of treatment outcomes. Case reports illustrate a clinician’s work but cannot establish that a method helps every person.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: Otto Rank, the Rankian Circle in Philadelphia, and the Origins of Carl Rogers’ Person-Centered Psychotherapy (Roy J. DeCarvalho, 1999)
Reference: DeCarvalho, R. J. (1999). Otto Rank, the Rankian circle in Philadelphia, and the origins of Carl Rogers’ person-centered psychotherapy. History of Psychology, 2(2), 132–148.
A historical article discusses the relationship-therapy work of Taft and other Philadelphia social workers and its influence on Carl Rogers. The abstract was consulted, not the full article.
Sources and inspection notes
Open Library. The dynamics of therapy in a controlled relationship, 1933 edition.
Supports: Catalogue identifies the 1933 Macmillan edition and describes two child case records; full text not reviewed.
University of Pennsylvania. Jessie Taft, Online Books Page.
Supports: University catalogue lists the 1933 Macmillan and 1962 Dover editions.
Supports: Abstract describes Rank, Taft and other Philadelphia social workers and their influence on Rogers; full article not reviewed.