title: Common factors in speech-language treatment: an exploratory study of effective clinicians.
abstract: Research in related fields that employ behavioral interventions indicates that factors common to treatment programs may be more important to successful outcomes than specific components of a treatment. Applying this concept to speech-language pathology, we investigated one hypothesized "common factor," namely, the clinician who implements treatment. Data were collected from limited samples of speech-language clinicians in two surveys. In Study One, 79 participants responded to open-ended questions about the nature of effective clinicians. A thematic analysis of their responses resulted in three broad categories of characteristics: behaviors, traits, and acquisitions. These themes were incorporated into an online survey for Study Two, in which 158 clinicians rated the importance of 25 clinician qualities. Their ratings suggested that the clinician-client relationship may be particularly important to treatment outcomes. These preliminary findings provide a foundation for further research on the clinician's contribution to treatment efficacy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Readers will be able to: (1) understand the concept of Common Factors; (2) describe the impact of clinicians on speech-language therapy outcomes as predicted by the Common Factors model; (3) list important characteristics of effective speech-language clinicians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences, University of Minnesota, 115 Shevlin Hall, 165 Pillsbury Dr. S.E., Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States. dana0007@umn.edu <dana0007@umn.edu>
authors.forename: Kerry Danahy
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Ebert
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kohnert
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D007808:Language Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008960:Models, Psychological; D013070:Speech Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D013066:Speech-Language Pathology / Q000379:methods*