title: The alliance in a friendship coaching intervention for parents of children with ADHD.
abstract: The alliance between parent and therapist was observed in a group-based parent-training intervention to improve social competency among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The intervention, called Parental Friendship Coaching (PFC), was delivered to 32 parents in small groups as part of a randomized clinical trial. PFC was delivered in eight, 90-minute sessions to parents; there was no child treatment component. Observed parent-therapist alliance recorded among 27 of the parents was measured using the Therapy Process Observational Coding System--Alliance scale (TPOCS-A; McLeod, 2005). Early alliance and change in alliance over time predicted improvements in several parenting behaviors and child outcomes, including peer sociometrics in a lab-based playgroup. These preliminary findings lend support to the importance of examining the parent-therapist alliance in parent-training groups for youth social and behavioral problems.
authors.affiliation: University of Virginia, USA. mlerner@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Matthew D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Lerner
authors.forename: Amori Yee
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Mikami
authors.forename: Bryce D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: McLeod
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D010379:Peer Group; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods; D011641:Public Relations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057566:Self Report; D012919:Social Behavior