title: California Psychotherapy Alliance Scale (CALPAS): psychometric properties of the German version for group and individual therapy patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Valid and internationally used instruments measuring therapeutic alliance are fundamental for psychotherapy research and practice. The main goal of this study was to validate a German version of the California Psychotherapy Alliance Scale (CALPAS) for the individual and the group therapy setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 203 patients undergoing individual or group therapy filled out the CALPAS right after a therapy session. To test convergent and discriminant validity, a subsample of group therapy patients were handed out the Group Climate Questionnaire (GCQ) and a short form of the Symptom-Checklist (SCL-K-9).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The German version of the CALPAS showed good psychometric properties. Further, therapeutic alliance was found to be stronger in the individual than in the group context, suggesting a less central (or different) role played by group therapists. Clinical implications and possible focus of future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: aba.delsignore@usz.ch.
authors.forename: Aba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delsignore
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rufer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Hanspeter
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moergeli
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Emmerich
authors.affiliation: Integrated Psychiatry Unit Winterthur, Winterthur, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jael
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schlesinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Milos
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schulte-Vels
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Steffi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weidt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011594:Psychometrics; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult