Therapist's effect on children's therapeutic alliance : A naturalistic study

• Autores: Casari, Leandro Martín; Areas, Malenka; Ison, Mirta Susana; Gómez, Beatriz; Roussos, Andrés; Consoli, Andrés; Gómez Penedo, Juan Martín
• Año de publicación: 2023
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Journal of clinical psychology. 2023, 80 (1)
• Materia: NIÑOS; PSICOTERAPIA; RELACION PACIENTE-TERAPEUTA
• Institución: Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina

Fil: Casari, Leandro Martín. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Económicas; Argentina
Fil: Casari, Leandro Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias Humanas, Ambientales y Sociales; Argentina
Fil: Areas, Malenka. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Fil: Areas, Malenka. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; Argentina
Fil: Ison, Mirta Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias Humanas, Sociales y Ambientales; Argentina
Fil: Gómez, Beatriz. Fundación Aiglé; Argentina
Fil: Roussos, Andrés. Universidad del Comahue; Argentina
Fil: Roussos, Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Patagónico de Estudios de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales; Argentina
Fil: Consoli, Andrés. University of California; Estados Unidos
Fil: Gómez Penedo, Juan Martín. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología; Argentina
Fil: Gómez Penedo, Juan Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Resumen: Objectives: The therapeutic alliance (TA) has been shown to be a predictor of psychotherapy treatment success. In the case of psychotherapy with children, there is a dearth of information on TA's role. The aims of the paper are: (1) To estimate the therapist effects on children TA; (2) to investigate if therapists' TA predicts children's TA; (3) to analyze if children's age and sex predict children's TA; (4) to evaluate if the therapist's characteristics predict children's TA. Methods: The sample consisted of 77 children undergoing psychotherapy in Argentina, and the therapists (N = 29) providing services to those children. The assessment tools utilized for the study included the Therapy Alliance Scale for Children and the Personal Style of the Therapist Questionnaire (PST‐Q). Results: Findings indicated that 2% of the children'sTA was explained by the therapists (ICC = 0.02), while 17% of the therapists' TA was explained by the therapists (ICC = 0.17). Therapists' TA predicted children's TA. Children's age and sex did not have an effect on their own TA. Moreover, therapists with more experience achieved higher scores of children's TA. Finally, the Operative dimension of the PST had a negative effect on children's TA (i.e., therapists who prefer more spontaneous interventions over structured ones may experience higher levels of therapeutic alliance with child patients). Conclusion: We found a positive effect of the therapist's TA on children's TA, especially in the preference for using more spontaneous intervention techniques. We discuss the implications of the findings on the training of psychotherapists who provide services to children.