Client and therapist values in relation to drop-out

Author(s): Vertommen, H., Storms, G.

Journal/Book: Clin Psychol Psychother. 1997; 4: Baffins Lane, Chichester, W Sussex, England PO19 1UD. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 1-6.

Abstract: Although since the 1980s a majority of therapists were found to believe that values are embedded in psychotherapy (Garfield and Bergin, 1994), values are seldom a part of explicit interaction between client and therapist in clinical practice. One possible reason for the discrepancy between the therapists' conviction and the actual clinical practice may be the lack of unequivocal results in research that deal with the relationship between client and therapist values and the outcome of psychotherapy. So, although clinicians can recognize the importance of values, they still do not know what to do about them when faced with a client. This study investigated the impact of initial value dissimilarity and value similarity between client and psychotherapist on early drop-out rate in a clinical setting (N=78 dyads). Value dissimilarity is related to drop-out, in contrast to value similarity. The results suggest that obvious value differences hinder the building of the therapeutic alliance as Kelly and Strupp (1992) suggested. A specific consequence for clinicians is that they are faced with the task of bridging the gap between the client and themselves for those values that are too different.

Note: Article Vervaeke GAC, Univ Groningen, Dept Clin Psychol, Postbox 30-001, NL-9700 Rb Groningen, NETHERLANDS

Keyword(s): PSYCHOTHERAPY; PREFERENCES; NEED

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