Alliance in action: a new measure of clients' perceptions of therapists' alliance activity.
We developed a new measure, Alliance in Action (AiA), which assesses clients' perceptions of therapist behavior related to fostering and maintaining the alliance. Clients (N=170) were treated by 42 therapists. All clients were currently in therapy. The results of a factor analysis revealed four subscales to the AiA, which reflected clients' perceptions of their therapists' behavior to monitor the therapeutic relationship, the goals for therapy, and progress towards client goals. A fourth subscale emerged that reflected clients' perceptions of therapist avoidance of eliciting feedback. The AiA subscales demonstrated alphas above .70 and they were associated with client-rated alliance and session outcomes in univariate correlation tests. In multilevel models, three of the four subscales were associated with alliance and session outcomes. The AiA may be helpful in understanding how the therapeutic alliance functions in therapy.
Education & Counseling Psychology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA. jesse.owen@louisville.edu
Jesse
J
Owen
Robert J
RJ
Reese
Kelley
K
Quirk
Emil
E
Rodolfa
D000328:Adult; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult