The working alliance: A comparison of two therapies.

Alliance ratings of single significant sessions of cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic-interpersonal therapies were compared using the observer form of the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI-O). Eighteen cognitive-behavioral and 13 psychodynamic-interpersonal therapists, nominated by experts in the field, participated in the study. Results indicate significantly higher total alliance scores for cognitive-behavioral sessions, and greater variability in alliance for psychodynamic-interpersonal sessions. In addition, SCL-90 scores were negatively correlated with the alliance solely in psychodynamic therapy, indicating that more symptomatic patients may have greater difficulty with the work required in this kind of therapy.