OBJECTIVE: The therapeutic alliance has been linked to symptom change in numerous investigations. Although the alliance is commonly conceptualized as a multidimensional construct, few studies have examined its components separately. The current study explored which components of the alliance are most highly associated with @entity308 symptom change in cognitive therapy (CT). METHOD: Data were drawn from 2 published randomized, controlled clinical trials of CT for major @entity308 (n = 105, mean age = 40 years, female = 62%, White = 82%). We examined the relations of 2 factor-analytically derived components of the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI; Horvath _ Greenberg, 1986, 1989) with symptom change on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, _ Brown, 1996) that occurred either prior to or subsequent to the examined sessions. WAI ratings were obtained at an early and a late session for each therapist- @entity1 dyad. RESULTS: Variation in symptom change subsequent to the early session was significantly related to the WAI factor that assesses therapist- @entity1 agreement on the goals and tasks of therapy but not to a factor assessing the affective bond between therapist and @entity1 . In contrast, both factors, when assessed in a late session, were significantly predicted by prior symptom change. CONCLUSIONS: These findings may reflect the importance, in CT, of therapist- @entity1 agreement on the goals and tasks of therapy. In contrast, the bond between therapist and @entity1 may be more of a consequence than a cause of symptom change in CT. The implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.

Two aspects of the therapeutic alliance: differential relations with XXXX symptom change.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patient'] @entity308 :: ('MESH:D003866', 'Disease') :: ['depressive disorder', 'depressive']
@entity308 :: (MESH:D003866,Disease) :: ['depressive']
