The purpose of the study was to provide an in-depth description of the counselingrnrelationship from the vantage point of juvenile offenders. Accordingly, six institutionalizedrnjuvenile offenders rving time in Addis Ababa Remand and Rehabilitation Homernparticipated in the study, onsistent with phenomenological methodology, each participantrnVa th roughly inter iewed and provided detailed description of the phenomenon of thrncoun eling relation hip, The main research question was: What are juvenile offendersrnperceptions of the coun eling relationship? Stemming from this, the major sub-questionsrnwhich 'ere explored are: (a) what preconceptions about the relationship have the juvenilernoffenders held prior thei r engagement in counseli ng? , (b) what are juvenile offenders'rnexperiences in their counseling relationships? (c) what aspects of the relationship arernmeaningful for the juvenile offenders? (d) what thoughts and feelings have the juvenilernoffenders attached ith the counsel ing relationship'?, (e) How does the counselingrnrelationship contribute to improvements inju enile offenders' behaviors?, and (I) I 10 ha ~rnthe ju'enilc offe nders perceived their relationship with the counselor as it progre ed frol11rnlirst se~sion to the la st session? onsequently se'en core themes were identified a therns cnces that constituted participants' perceptions of the phenomenon of the counselingrnrelationship: Preconceptions; first sessions; process; counselor's approach; benetit : client'srn'elf disclo ure' and end of the counseling relationship, Moreover, under these theme.rncomposite textural-stru ctural description of participants experiences were forwarded tornpro'ide a holistic picture of their perception of the phenomenon, Findings of the study shadedrnlight 011 the counseling. relationship and its importance in correctional settings, Implication:rnfur concerned bodies are also discussed