Cite as (APA style): Zareva, S. & Echev, Z. (2026). Attraction in the therapeutic relationship: Female and male perspectives through the Five-Stage model of Positive Psychotherapy. The Global Psychotherapist, 6(2), 262-271.
Abstract: A therapist’s attraction to the client is a rarely discussed but clinically significant phenomenon. While the client’s erotic transference is well conceptualized in the psychodynamic literature, the therapist’s own countertransference experiences often remain on the periphery of scholarly interest. In this practice-oriented article, by using the theoretical framework of the Five-Stage Model and the Balance Model of Positive Psychotherapy (Peseschkian, 1987), developed by Nosrat Peseschkian, we examine the attraction a female therapist feels toward a male client, as well as the attraction a male therapist feels toward a female client. Through the metaphor of psychotherapy as a cross-cultural situation, attraction is conceptualized and examined as a meaningful signal within the dynamics of actual conflicts and capacities, rather than as an automatic ethical failure. Special attention is given to the transition from primary capacities (such as love and trust) to secondary capacities (such as precision and propriety) in the context of professional boundaries. The therapist’s attraction to the client can be an indispensable source of information in the therapeutic process. By examining the therapeutic experiences of male and female therapists and drawing parallels in similar cases, we aim to present not merely a dry and superficial symptom or final outcome, but tools with which, regardless of gender, every therapist can navigate such a situation.
This dual-perspective analysis aims not only to highlight the differences between the female and male perspectives but also to identify the points of convergence where attraction becomes a meaningful tool for understanding and working together, rather than being perceived as a risk or a deviation, i.e., regardless of the therapist’s gender, attraction can be conceptualized as a resource.
Keywords: countertransference, therapeutic, attraction, female and male perspectives, balance model, professional boundaries, Positive Psychotherapy, actual capabilities