A preliminary examination of participant characteristics in relation to patients’ treatment beliefs in psychotherapy in a training clinic.

Abstract

Patients’ psychotherapy outcome expectations and credibility beliefs are associated with adaptive treatment processes and outcomes. However, little is known about correlates of such beliefs. We explored how participant characteristics relate to patients’ baseline and early treatment beliefs. Data for this preliminary correlational study derived from 65 adult outpatients in psychotherapy-as-usual. Self-report measures assessed patient (demographics, general and mental health history, global and specific symptom severity, and diagnostic comorbidity), therapist (demographics and theoretical orientation), and dyad (demographic match) characteristics, and patients’ baseline treatment outcome expectations and their post-Session 1 outcome expectations and credibility beliefs. Bivariate correlations indicated that patients’ manic symptoms were positively associated with baseline expectations ( .292, p .002), while substance abuse symptoms ( .209, p .038) and Axis II comorbidity (r .257, p .045) were negatively associated with such expectations. Patients’ psychotic symptoms were positively associated with post-Session 1 expectations ( .221, p .035) and global functioning was positively associated with post-Session 1 credibility beliefs (r .343, p .016). Multivariate regression indicated a positive and negative association, respectively, between manic symptoms and baseline expectations ( .28, p .027) and substance abuse symptoms and baseline expectations ( .33, p .032) when accounting for patient global symptom severity and Axis II comorbidity. Results highlight several associations between participant characteristics and patients’ presenting and early treatment beliefs, suggesting the importance of attending to such characteristics in case formulation, treatment planning, and treatment implementation.