Is it me, is it you or is it both of US? Applying the social relations model to disentangle the components of the therapeutic bond

Abstract

Objective The study investigated the contribution of therapists and patients to the therapeutic bond and their associations (at the within and between levels) to treatment outcome. On this aim, the social relations model (SRM, aimed to analyze dyadic interpersonal data) was implemented. Method A novel design for individual psychotherapy studies was adopted, a many-with-many asymmetrical block dyadic design, in which several patients interact with several therapists. Hierarchical linear models were computed to study through variance partitioning the different components of the SRM and their association to treatment outcome. Results All SRM components (with significant effects at therapist- and patient- within and between levels) resulted in significant contributions to the bond. However, only components at the within- and between-therapist, and within-patient levels resulted in significant associations with outcome. Conclusion Given the dyadic nature of the bond, our results support not only studying and offering clinical training on interpersonal therapeutic skills but also on constant monitoring and feedback of the relationship at the more idiosyncratic level.