This study investigates the nature of therapist-client interactions within and across seven actual psychotherapy cases to investigate the assertion within interactional theories that positive therapeutic outcome is the result of a transition from relational incongruence to relational congruence. Counselor/client verbal utterances were coded using Stiles' verbal response taxonomy. A measure of counselor and client response redundancy (patterning) served as an index of relational congruence, with higher levels of redundancy reflecting greater congruence. Therapeutic outcome, operationalized in terms of symptom reduction, was assessed using the SCL-90-R psychological symptomology instrument. The Working Alliance Inventory was used as a construct validation measure for the index of relational congruence. A transition from incongruence to congruence was not evidenced in the cases, nor was a relation found between relational congruence and the Working Alliance Inventory. However, there was some support for the hypothesis that therapeutic change (symptom reduction) is related to relational congruence/incongruence. Further research to address the issues raised by this study is needed. (Contains 40 references.) (Author/KW)