The relationship of alliance, cohesion, and climate with outcome among college counseling populations.

Abstract

It is not yet fully understood how alliance, cohesion, and climate differentially correlate with client outcome in group therapy, especially when assessed simultaneously. This study aims to elucidate these relationships through an archival analysis of continuous Group Questionnaire (GQ) and Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45) data from 412 group therapy clients at college counseling centers, which were originally collected by Burlingame, Whitcomb, et al. (2018). We predicted that alliance, cohesion, and climate would each correlate with improvements in outcome and, further, that they would have similar relationships with change in outcome. Results indicate that greater alliance, cohesion, and climate are individually associated with lower distress. This relationship was significant regarding session-to-session fluctuations on individual client scores ( p < .01), as well as regarding differences between clients in their personal averages across sessions ( p < .01). However, when linear growth trajectories were considered, only alliance was significantly associated with improvement ( p < .05). In other words, alliance, climate, and cohesion all correlate with outcome when time is ignored; however, alliance alone significantly correlates with outcome when change over time is taken into account. This study highlights the importance of the client-therapist relationship, emphasizing how alliance is significantly related to change in group therapy. Thus, therapists should prioritize a strong bond with clients. Public Significance StatementThis study explores how clients' outcomes in therapy relate to the relationships that they form in group therapy, including relationships with other members, the group leader, and the group-as-a-whole. Results suggest that a good relationship with the group therapist is especially associated with changes in outcome over time, highlighting the importance of this relationship in group therapy.

Members’ goal orientation and working alliance in group therapy: A response surface analysis.

“…At the same time, group scholars have noted that the alliance resembles other related group constructs, such as group cohesion and group climate, highlighting the need to examine and differentiate the unique contributions of these constructs on positive treatment outcomes. As such, Arnold et al (2022) examined the unique and shared contributions of alliance, group cohesion, and group climate on treatment outcome in a large sample of clients participating in group therapy. Results indicated that all three constructs were positively related with symptom reduction; however, when linear growth trajectories were considered, alliance was the only significant predictor of symptom reduction over time.…”

Inaugural editorial for Journal of Counseling Psychology.

“…As a journal, we have robust research on many canonical concepts and practices in our field. Areas such as career and vocational theory (Navarro et al, 2019), cultural humility (Hook et al, 2016), microaggressions (Lee et al, 2023), group therapy (Arnold et al, 2022), attachment theory and its applications (Wang et al, 2022), measurement development (Langrehr et al, 2021), and psychotherapy process and outcomes (Pérez-Rojas et al, 2023), to name a few, have been central to the success of the journal. These areas of inquiry will continue to be central to the journal.…”