The Influence of Demand Characteristics and Social Desirability on Clients’ Ratings of the Therapeutic Alliance

Reese, Robert J.; Gillaspy, J. Arthur; Owen, Jesse; Flora, Kevin; Cunningham, Linda; Archie, Danielle; Marsden, TroyMichael

doi:10.1002/jclp.21946

Cited by 60 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…[ The therapist ] and I respect each other). The WAI‐SR sees widespread use and has solid evidence of generating reliable and valid scores in psychotherapy (Hatcher & Gillaspy, ; Reese et al., ). For the current study, coefficient alpha for the WAI‐SR was .91.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of telepsychology format on empathic accuracy and the therapeutic alliance: An analogue counselling session

Reese

Mecham

Vasilj

et al. 2016

Couns and Psychother Res

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Objective The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate whether psychotherapy format (videoconferencing, telephone or in‐person) influenced therapist empathic accuracy and clients’ perceptions of the therapeutic alliance. We also evaluated whether client attitudes towards using telepsychology influenced the therapeutic alliance in the telepsychology formats. A secondary purpose was to determine whether empathic accuracy predicted the therapeutic alliance differently across service delivery formats. Method A randomised block design was used to assign volunteer clients (N = 58) to receive one session of psychotherapy in a videoconferencing, telephonic or in‐person format. Clients completed two therapeutic alliance measures and a telepsychology attitudes measure, and both therapists and clients completed an empathic accuracy measure. Results There were no statistically significant differences between the conditions on therapist empathic accuracy or therapeutic alliance. Attitudes towards telepsychology and empathic accuracy were both significant predictors of alliance in the telepsychology delivery formats. Interestingly, empathic accuracy did not predict the therapeutic alliance for clients in the in‐person condition. Conclusions Although preliminary, the results suggest that the technology‐mediated psychotherapy processes of empathic accuracy and therapeutic alliance seem to be similar to in‐person psychotherapy. Empathic accuracy, however, may be a more salient process for clients who receive services in a telepsychology format. Process‐focused research may highlight important distinctions in technology‐mediated psychological services that inform both practice and policy.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of telepsychology format on empathic accuracy and the therapeutic alliance: An analogue counselling session

Reese

Mecham

Vasilj

et al. 2016

Couns and Psychother Res

Self Cite

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“…Gillaspy and Murphy () reported the average internal consistency of SRS scores across five studies equaled .92 (range .88 –.96). SRS scores also exhibit moderate evidence for concurrent validity with longer alliance measures; r =.48 with the Helping Alliance Questionnaire–II (Duncan et al., ), r = .63 with the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI; Campbell & Hemsley, ), and r = .65 with the WAI–Short Revised (Reese et al., ). The predictive validity of SRS scores has been supported by two studies.…”

Section: The Partners For Change Outcome Management Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Partners for Change Outcome Management System: A Both/And System for Collaborative Practice

Sparks

Duncan²

2018

Family Process

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Systematic client feedback (SCF) is increasingly employed in mental health services worldwide. While research supports its efficacy over treatment as usual, clinicians, especially those who highly value relational practices, may be concerned that routine data collection detracts from clinical process. This article describes one SCF system, the Partners for Change Outcome Management System (PCOMS), along a normative (standardized measurement) to communicative (conversational) continuum, highlighting PCOMS' origins in everyday clinical practice. The authors contend that PCOMS represents "both/and," providing a valid signal of client progress while facilitating communicative process particularly prized by family therapists steeped in relational traditions. The article discusses application of PCOMS in systemic practice and describes how it actualizes time-honored family therapy approaches. The importance of giving voice to individualized client experience is emphasized.

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“…Seven studies examined the effect of SD in self‐reports of treatment variables and outcomes, and in most of them SD correlated negatively with certain undesirable self‐reports such as psychiatric symptoms or drug addiction severity and correlated positively with desirable characteristics such as parental happiness or treatment attendance. On the contrary, two studies found a negligible effect of SD on clinical outcomes such as therapeutic alliance (Reese et al., ) and self‐management of chronic disease (Nolte, Elsworth, & Osborne, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of Social Desirability Scales in Clinical Psychology: A Systematic Review

2016

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The Influence of Demand Characteristics and Social Desirability on Clients’ Ratings of the Therapeutic Alliance

Abstract: The results indicate that alliance scores were not inflated due to the presence of a therapist or knowing that the scores would be observed by the therapist.

Cited by 60 publications

References 58 publications

The effects of telepsychology format on empathic accuracy and the therapeutic alliance: An analogue counselling session

The effects of telepsychology format on empathic accuracy and the therapeutic alliance: An analogue counselling session

The Partners for Change Outcome Management System: A Both/And System for Collaborative Practice

Use of Social Desirability Scales in Clinical Psychology: A Systematic Review

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