Objectives: To review the literature around causes of hopelessness, explore the interaction between hope and the therapeutic relationship, and critically appraise the process. Literature review: Recent articles in PsychINFO with 'hopelessness' in the title were summarised. Feeling out ofcontrol, thinking negatively and being perfectionist are risk factors for hopelessness. Conversely, being motivated, tackling problems and engaging in purposeful action are protective factors. Repeated negative experiences inhibit people from tackling problems, making hopelessness more likely. Conversely, positive experiences and life opportunities promote hope. Thus, high levels ofhopelessness are seen in impoverished and disenfranchised communities. Dialogical sequence analvsis: Therapy transcripts were analysed using dialogical sequence analysis to compare therapists' therapeutic relationships with clients who regained hope over the first four sessions oftherapy, (responders) and who did not (nonresponders). Participants were drawn from a previous studys in which depressed clients referred for therapy agreed for their sessions to be recorded. The two therapists whose clients had the most extreme range ofresponders and non-responders were identified, and those 4 clients' transcripts were analysed. With the responders both therapists were .more confident, more optimistic, made more use ofthe therapeutic relationship, and took more risks. A transactional model oftherapeutic hope was proposed: a therapist's optimism about outcome results from balancing hislher own sense of competence against an evaluation ofthe client's entrenchment. Optimism appeared to enable more effective ways ofworking. Critical appraisal: A personal reflection upon the research process.