A combination of social and economic factors have led to the current surge of interest in brief psychotherapy. But how do the time limitations affect the central relationship between therapist and client? How do therapist and client determine the focus of their work together? How does the therapist deal with ruptures in the working alliance and the pressure of termination issues? This is the first book to systematically examine the role of the therapeutic alliance in short-term psychotherapy. The distinguished contributors represent a variety of approaches: psychoanalytic and psychodynamic; relational; behavioural/functional analytic; cognitive; and humanistic/experiential. Therapy with couples and families as well as with individuals is discussed. The contribiutors each address the same questions regarding the alliance, which helps the reader better understand the similarities and differences between approaches. This book explores both theory and technique and should interest clinicians of all orientations.