Therapist-Patient Relationship in Physiotherapy Practice

The study of the patient-physiotherapist relationship is of great interest, because unlike another health-care professional, the physiotherapist is supposed to have a closer corporal contact than the others. Through the analysis and identification of the process involved in this relationship, is possible to get a better comprehension about the relative positions and the elements of power used in each role assumed, associated with their social and cultural background. The proposal is having a critical view of the interactions during a treatment session in order to give new dimensions and possibilities to the professional practice, having in account social and cultural references. In this paper is presented the first study phase, with the emerging conceptual categories, related to body language, verbal communication, surrounding and cultural factors. The influences in the therapist-patient relationship are discussed for being analyzed and interpreted in the second phase.