Therapeutic Working Alliance in Brief Therapy with College Students: In-Person Versus Telemental Health

Abstract

This study compared the therapeutic working alliance in brief counseling using two delivery methods: synchronous video delivery and in-person delivery. The alliance was measured using the Working Alliance Inventory (client version). Participants were 49 undergraduate college students between the ages of 18 and 22. Solution-focused brief therapy was the treatment protocol, and the study used a randomized, controlled design. Welch’st-tests and non-inferiority analyses were conducted, in addition to hierarchical regression analyses to examine the predictive value of the working alliance on post-treatment anxiety. Non-inferiority statistical analyses indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in working alliance for online delivery compared to in-person. A hierarchical regression analysis suggests that the therapeutic working alliance contributed to anxiety treatment outcomes for college student participants.