title: Early alliance, alliance ruptures, and symptom change in a nonrandomized trial of cognitive therapy for avoidant and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.
abstract: Participants were 30 adult outpatients diagnosed with avoidant personality disorder or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder who enrolled in an open trial of cognitive therapy for personality disorders. Treatment consisted of up to 52 weekly sessions. Symptom evaluations were conducted at intake, at Sessions 17 and 34, and at the last session. Alliance variables were patients' first alliance rating and "rupture-repair" episodes, which are disruptions in the therapeutic relationship that can provide corrective experiences and facilitate change. Stronger early alliances and rupture-repair episodes predicted more improvement in symptoms of personality disorder and depression. This work points to potentially important areas to target in treatment development for these personality disorders.
authors.affiliation: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.forename: Adele M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.forename: Sheri L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Cory F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.forename: Gregory K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Jacques P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Barber
authors.forename: Jean-Philippe
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Laurenceau
authors.forename: Aaron T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Beck
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000628:therapy; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012720:Severity of Illness Index