TY - JOUR
T1 - Pretreatment insight as a predictor of alliance strengthening in supportive vs. supportive-expressive treatment
AU - Yaffe-Herbst, Lirit
AU - Krapf Forteza-Rey, Abigail
AU - Peysachov, Galit
AU - Zilcha-Mano, Sigal
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Society for Psychotherapy Research.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Objective: The available literature points to the potential therapeutic benefits of alliance strengthening during treatment. Both supportive and expressive techniques have been suggested to be associated with strengthening of the alliance. The present study investigates whether patients may show different effects of supportive vs. expressive techniques in improving alliance as a function of their pretreatment insight levels. Method: Fifty-five patients were randomly assigned to either supportive treatment (ST) or supportive-expressive treatment (SET), as part of a larger randomized controlled trial. Clinical interviews were administered at pretreatment to evaluate the patients’ level of insight. The working alliance was measured after each of the 16 sessions. A multilevel model, including a 3-way interaction of pretreatment insight by treatment condition (ST vs. SET) by time, was used to predict alliance strengthening. Results: The findings suggest that, for individuals receiving ST, those with higher levels of insight show greater alliance strengthening. For individuals receiving SET, those with lower levels of insight show greater alliance strengthening. Conclusion: The current study suggests that one size may not fit all and, whereas some individuals may benefit more from ST to achieve alliance strengthening, others may benefit more from SET.
AB - Objective: The available literature points to the potential therapeutic benefits of alliance strengthening during treatment. Both supportive and expressive techniques have been suggested to be associated with strengthening of the alliance. The present study investigates whether patients may show different effects of supportive vs. expressive techniques in improving alliance as a function of their pretreatment insight levels. Method: Fifty-five patients were randomly assigned to either supportive treatment (ST) or supportive-expressive treatment (SET), as part of a larger randomized controlled trial. Clinical interviews were administered at pretreatment to evaluate the patients’ level of insight. The working alliance was measured after each of the 16 sessions. A multilevel model, including a 3-way interaction of pretreatment insight by treatment condition (ST vs. SET) by time, was used to predict alliance strengthening. Results: The findings suggest that, for individuals receiving ST, those with higher levels of insight show greater alliance strengthening. For individuals receiving SET, those with lower levels of insight show greater alliance strengthening. Conclusion: The current study suggests that one size may not fit all and, whereas some individuals may benefit more from ST to achieve alliance strengthening, others may benefit more from SET.
KW - alliance
KW - insight
KW - process research
KW - psychodynamic treatment
KW - self-understanding
KW - supportive-expressive
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85150827968&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10503307.2023.2189028
DO - 10.1080/10503307.2023.2189028
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85150827968
SN - 1050-3307
JO - Psychotherapy Research
JF - Psychotherapy Research
ER -