A match made in heaven? A pilot study of patient-therapist match.
The authors report on a study of patient-therapist match in 50 psychodynamic psychotherapy dyads. Sixty-six percent of patients and therapists agreed about the quality of the match, with 58% of patients and 56% of therapists reporting that the match was positive. Positive match correlated with positive patient and therapist assessments about the progress and process of therapy, but not with perceived similarity of personal characteristics. Patients' and therapists' perceptions about their similarities and differences from one another did not correlate. This study suggests it is both possible and important to gather data from both patient and therapist when studying match.
Dolinsky
A
A
Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA.
Vaughan
S C
SC
Luber
B
B
Mellman
L
L
Roose
S
S
D000328:Adult; D002605:Character; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000193:education; D016896:Treatment Outcome