Early and Later Predictors of Outcome in Brief Therapy: The Role of Real Relationship

Objectives: The study examined whether clients who continued longer in brief therapy reported stronger associations of real relationship and working alliance with therapy outcome than clients who received very brief treatment. It also examined whether real relationship and working alliance assessed early in treatment predicted outcome differently from that assessed later in therapy. Method: Fifty clients (32 women; Mage = 22.3 years) were recruited from a university counseling center. Thirty- two clients (very brief therapy) completed the post-third session assessment of real relationship and working alliance, and 18 (brief therapy) had both the third and eighth assessment. Results: The real relationship scores (both client and therapist rating) were significantly correlated with outcome in the 18 brief therapy clients, but not in the 32 very brief therapy clients. We found significant correlations between outcome and Bond element of the working alliance in the 18 brief therapy clients, and between outcome and working alliance-Task in the 32 very brief therapy clients. Conclusions: These findings suggested that the strength of the early real relationship, as well as later real relationship, are highly associated with outcome for clients who continue brief therapy past its earliest stages.