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Degree

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, Psychology (Arts and Sciences), 2005.

Abstract

The therapeutic alliance is consistently related to treatment outcome, and therefore represents an important aspect of how and why psychotherapy is effective. In the present study, security of attachment, quality of object relations, and interpersonal style were measured as predictors of the alliance early in treatment. Forty-eight individual psychotherapy clients were administered the Revised Adult Attachment Scale (AAS), the Bell Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory (BORRTI), and the Interpersonal Adjective Scales-Revised (IAS-R) prior to their initial therapy session. Participants completed the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) following their first, second, and third sessions. Security of attachment and quality of object relations were related to the alliance at session one, while quality of object relations was no longer related to the alliance at session two, and none of the predictors were related to the alliance at session three. Early therapeutic alliance appears to be influenced by interpersonal attachment and object relations.

Keywords

Therapeutic Alliance; Attachment; Object Relations; Interpersonal Style; Circumplex; Psychotherapy; Psychotherapy Process; Pretreatment Characteristics

Advisor

Timothy Anderson

Pages

159p.

Document number: ohiou1132069514
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1132069514

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