RESEARCH SUMMARY ON THE THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP AND PSYCHOTHERAPY OUTCOME

Factors that influence client outcome can be divided into four areas: extratherapeutic factors, expectancy effects, specific therapy techniques, and common factors. Common factors such as empathy, warmth, and the therapeutic relationship have been shown to correlate more highly with client outcome t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychotherapy (Chicago, Ill.) Ill.), 2001, Vol.38 (4), p.357-361
Main Authors: Lambert, Michael J, Barley, Dean E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clinicians
Psychotherapeutic Outcomes
Psychotherapeutic Processes
Psychotherapeutic Techniques
Psychotherapy
Therapist Characteristics
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Factors that influence client outcome can be divided into four areas: extratherapeutic factors, expectancy effects, specific therapy techniques, and common factors. Common factors such as empathy, warmth, and the therapeutic relationship have been shown to correlate more highly with client outcome than specialized treatment interventions. The common factors most frequently studied have been the person-centered facilitative conditions (empathy, warmth, congruence) and the therapeutic alliance. Decades of research indicate that the provision of therapy is an interpersonal process in which a main curative component is the nature of the therapeutic relationship. Clinicians must remember that this is the foundation of our efforts to help others. The improvement of psychotherapy may best be accomplished by learning to improve one's ability to relate to clients and tailoring that relationship to individual clients.
ISSN:0033-3204
1939-1536
DOI:10.1037/0033-3204.38.4.357