Interaction of therapeutic process and alliance during psychological assessment

Abstract

Utilizing a collaborative therapeutic assessment (TA) model proposed by Finn and Tonsager (1997), we examined the interaction between therapeutic alliance and insession process during the assessment phase of treatment. This study compares the utility of the TA model (n = 38) versus a traditional information gathering model (n = 90) of assessment. The results of this study indicate that the use of a TA model may decrease the number of patients who terminate treatment against medical advice. The Session Evaluation Questionnaire (Stiles and Snow, 1984), Combined Alliance Short Form (Hatcher and Barends, 1996), and Penn Helping Alliance Questionnaire-Revised (Barber and Crits-Christoph, 1996) can reliably measure the patient's experience of the assessment. The psychological assessment process may impact the patient's experience of assessment feedback and aid in the development of a therapeutic alliance. The therapeutic alliance developed during the assessment was found to be related to alliance early in psychotherapy. We discuss the theoretical, clinical, and research implications of these findings.