Rapport refers to the empathic and shared understanding of issues between a therapist and a client. It requires genuine interest in and accepting openness to the other person to be able to experience the empathy that is an important key to rapport. Good rapport with the patient, raises the trust and confidence the patient has in the therapist, which can be especially important when issues come up that are difficult for the patient to address.
Conveying trust and trustworthiness is important in any relationship, but especially so when it comes to medication or other medical issues, which may be difficult to a patient to talk about. Medication requires compliance from the patient and openness form the prescriber, which requires mutual trust.
Also, a therapist may be more effective in understanding and providing feedback and therapeutic suggestions to the patient when there is a sense of a stable and strong therapeutic relationship with the client. Good rapport can so increase the chances of a successful outcome of any therapy.
