Browsing by Author "Vaz, Ana Marta Vieira"
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- Real relationship and working alliance: their association and contribution to the outcome of psychotherapyPublication . Vaz, Ana Marta Vieira; Janeiro, LuísThe real relationship and working alliance are considered sister concepts because even though they are separate constructs they are also interrelated. Both of them are considered to contribute significantly to the outcome of therapy, but there are still some questions regarding their relationship, like what contributes to their proximity? To examine the association of real relationship and working alliance across studies, and confirm their separation, we elaborated a systematic review of this two constructs. Based on the results from that study, we conducted an empirical investigation with 40 ongoing therapist-client dyads, where we evaluated how real relationship and working alliance contribute to the outcome of psychotherapy, and if that contribution was influenced by the rater’s perspective. The meta-analysis confirmed the theorized association between real relationship and working alliance, revealing an overall correlation of r = .66. The manner in which each of them contributes to outcome confirmed their differentiation. The empirical study also showed a significant correlation between real relationship and working alliance, and that the bond subscale of the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) had an influence in this association. Overall, real relationship seemed to predict outcome beyond the working alliance, in both client and therapist’s perspectives. However, when we considered the subscales, the results depended on the perspective: for clients, genuineness was a better predictor; for therapists, realism was more important when combined with the task subscale of the WAI. The study emphasizes the need to keep the research on the concepts of real relationship and working alliance, in order to improve the therapeutic relationship and the outcome of psychotherapy.