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Therapeutic alliance and outcome in routine psychiatric out-patient treatment: Patient factors and outcome

Johansson, Håkan LU and Jansson, Jan-Åke LU (2010) In Psychology and Psychotherapy 83(2). p.193-206
Abstract
Objective. This study investigated the importance of the therapeutic alliance in a routine psychiatric out-patient unit regarding treatment outcome and the influence of patient factors. Design. The study had a naturalistic and longitudinal design where the treatments the patient received were determined by the normal routines at the unit and were performed by a variety of staff representative of a psychiatric out-patient unit. Method. Newly admitted patients were diagnosed according to the International Classification of Diseases - 10th Revision and completed questionnaires regarding the therapeutic alliance, symptoms, and interpersonal problems at the beginning and termination of their treatment (N = 76). The time limit for the... (More)
Objective. This study investigated the importance of the therapeutic alliance in a routine psychiatric out-patient unit regarding treatment outcome and the influence of patient factors. Design. The study had a naturalistic and longitudinal design where the treatments the patient received were determined by the normal routines at the unit and were performed by a variety of staff representative of a psychiatric out-patient unit. Method. Newly admitted patients were diagnosed according to the International Classification of Diseases - 10th Revision and completed questionnaires regarding the therapeutic alliance, symptoms, and interpersonal problems at the beginning and termination of their treatment (N = 76). The time limit for the termination assessments was set at 18 months. Results. The therapeutic alliance at the beginning of treatment did not correlate with outcome, however, at the end of the treatment the alliance significantly explained about 15% of the variance of the outcome (global severity index). An improvement of the alliance during the treatment significantly correlated with most of the outcome variables. The relation of the alliance to outcome was equal among the different diagnosis groups and treatment forms. Conclusion. The results showed that the therapeutic alliance is an important variable for treatment outcome in routine psychiatric treatment, and improving the therapeutic alliance may be one of the most important factors for increasing the total effectiveness of a treatment unit. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Psychology and Psychotherapy
volume
83
issue
2
pages
193 - 206
publisher
British Psychological Society
external identifiers
  • wos:000278016400006
  • scopus:77951800841
  • pmid:19793413
ISSN
1476-0835
DOI
10.1348/147608309X472081
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f284b032-e70b-4f29-b3c2-14b2418ecfaf (old id 1616633)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:05:36
date last changed
2022-01-27 17:17:39
@article{f284b032-e70b-4f29-b3c2-14b2418ecfaf,
  abstract     = {{Objective. This study investigated the importance of the therapeutic alliance in a routine psychiatric out-patient unit regarding treatment outcome and the influence of patient factors. Design. The study had a naturalistic and longitudinal design where the treatments the patient received were determined by the normal routines at the unit and were performed by a variety of staff representative of a psychiatric out-patient unit. Method. Newly admitted patients were diagnosed according to the International Classification of Diseases - 10th Revision and completed questionnaires regarding the therapeutic alliance, symptoms, and interpersonal problems at the beginning and termination of their treatment (N = 76). The time limit for the termination assessments was set at 18 months. Results. The therapeutic alliance at the beginning of treatment did not correlate with outcome, however, at the end of the treatment the alliance significantly explained about 15% of the variance of the outcome (global severity index). An improvement of the alliance during the treatment significantly correlated with most of the outcome variables. The relation of the alliance to outcome was equal among the different diagnosis groups and treatment forms. Conclusion. The results showed that the therapeutic alliance is an important variable for treatment outcome in routine psychiatric treatment, and improving the therapeutic alliance may be one of the most important factors for increasing the total effectiveness of a treatment unit.}},
  author       = {{Johansson, Håkan and Jansson, Jan-Åke}},
  issn         = {{1476-0835}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{193--206}},
  publisher    = {{British Psychological Society}},
  series       = {{Psychology and Psychotherapy}},
  title        = {{Therapeutic alliance and outcome in routine psychiatric out-patient treatment: Patient factors and outcome}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/147608309X472081}},
  doi          = {{10.1348/147608309X472081}},
  volume       = {{83}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}