The Working Alliance in Client-Centered and Process-Experiential Therapy of Depression

This study examined the development of the working alliance in process-experiential (PE) and client-centered therapy of depression. Thirty-four randomly assigned individuals completed 16 to 20 sessions of manual-based therapy. Results revealed the size of the alliance-outcome relation to be dependent on alliance dimension (goal, task, or bond), outcome measure (symptom improvement vs. self-esteem, relational problems), and time in treatment alliance. Part correlational analyses revealed that early alliance scores predicted outcomes that were not attributable to early mood changes. Although no group differences were found for bond and goal alliance, the PE group displayed higher task alliance scores in the midphase of therapy. The level of pretreatment depression did not affect alliance formation. The implications of these results are discussed.