Affiliations: Department of Educational Foundations and Special
Services, Center for Disability Studies, Kent State University, 405 White Hall,
Kent, OH 44242-0001, USA. Tel.: +1 330 672 0577; Fax: +1 330 672 2512; E-mail:
lkoch@kent.edu | School of Communication Studies, Kent State
University, Kent, OH, USA | College of Nursing, Kent State University, Kent, OH,
USA
Note: [] Corresponding author
Abstract: Rehabilitation and health care researchers are increasingly called
upon to examine contemporary disability issues from an interdisciplinary
perspective. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to (a) borrow from the
counseling literature to introduce the working alliance, a model developed by
Bordin [1] to facilitate positive therapeutic relationships; and (b) to
discuss its application to interdisciplinary research. The authors, who
represent the fields of nursing, rehabilitation, and health communication,
describe characteristics of the working alliance and draw upon their
experiences to illustrate the key components of effective working alliances
(bonds, goals, and tasks). We also introduce strategies for resolving
disagreements and conclude the article with a discussion regarding the multiple
rewards that can be acquired from interdisciplinary research.
Keywords: Interdisciplinary research, collaboration, working alliance
