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Quality of Working Alliance in Psychotherapy

Therapist Variables and Patient/Therapist Similarity as Predictors

Received February 9, 2001; revised May 16, 2001; accepted May 23, 2001. From the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Oslo, and the Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway. Address correspondence to A.G. Hersoug, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 85 Vinderen, N-0319 Oslo, Norway. E-mail: a.g.hersoug{at}psykiatri.uio.no

Therapist characteristics were explored as possible predictors of working alliance, rated early and later in therapy both by therapists (n=59) and patients (n=270) in an ongoing multisite project on process and outcome of psychotherapy. Patients and therapists had divergent perspectives on the working alliance. Therapists' experience, training, skill, and progress as therapists did not have any significant impact on alliance as rated by patients. Training and skill were positively related to alliance as rated by therapists. Interpersonal relationships on the cold–warm dimension had a moderate impact for both patients' and therapists' alliance ratings. Some implications for therapist training are discussed.

Key Words: Working Alliance • Therapist Characteristics • Patient/Therapist Similarity