Alliance to the Group–as–a–Whole as a Predictor of Outcome in Psychodynamic Group Therapy

Abstract

Eighteen patients diagnosed with burnout–related depression and receiving short–term psychodynamic group psychotherapy were included in this study. The participants completed the group version of the California Psychotherapy Alliance Scales (CALPAS) five times during treatment and evaluated the relationship positively. Alliance increased significantly as treatment progressed; however, the amount of change was small. Level of alliance to the group–as–a–whole, averaged over time, was predictive of two out of three outcome measures, whereas growth in alliance during the early phase of therapy was not predictive of outcome. Exploratory examination of the alliance at different time points showed that alliance to the group–as–a–whole at mid–phase of treatment was substantially correlated with outcome. Personality features such as dismissing attachment style and being overly nurturant or exploitable were predictive of early growth in alliance.