title: How do therapists ally with adolescents in family therapy? An examination of relational control communication in early sessions.
abstract: Sequential analyses examined associations between the working alliance and therapist-adolescent communication patterns in 10 Spanish cases of brief conjoint family therapy. Early sessions with strong versus problematic alliances, rated by observers, were selected for coding of relational control communication patterns. No differences were found in the frequency of exchanges, but competitive responding by the therapists (reflecting an interpersonal struggle for control) was significantly more likely in problematic alliance sessions than in strong alliance sessions. Cases in which the adolescent's alliance with the therapist remained positive from Session 1 as compared with Session 3 showed a decrease in the likelihood of competitive symmetry. Notably, when the quality of the alliance deteriorated over time, the therapists were increasingly more likely to respond to the adolescents' domineering messages in a competitive manner. Results underscore the need to avoid competitive responding in order to ally with adolescents in conjoint family treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York. crismunizpena@gmail.com
authors.forename: Cristina Muñiz
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: de la Peña
authors.forename: Myrna L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Friedlander
authors.forename: Valentín
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Escudero
authors.forename: Laurie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Heatherington
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004291:Dominance-Subordination; D005195:Family Relations; D005196:Family Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D013811:Psychotherapeutic Processes; D011614:Psychotherapy, Brief; D013030:Spain