Do patients' perceptions of their counselors influence outcomes of drug treatment?
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 28, 2026

Treatment Model for Young Patients with Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction and Resultant Infertility
Published on: May 30, 2025
Nagalakshmi D Kasarabada1, Yih-Ing Hser, Sharon M Boles
1UCLA Drug Abuse Research Center, 1640 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA.
Abstract:
This prospective longitudinal study examined the influence of patients' perceptions of their counselors on their lengths of stay in treatment and subsequent treatment outcomes. Patients (N = 511) were recruited from 19 substance abuse treatment programs in Los Angeles County. While in treatment, patients rated their counselors on 14 aspects (e.g., empathy, directiveness); 1 year later they were interviewed for follow-up outcomes. Multiple regression analyses were conducted using patients' ratings of their counselors to assess the impact of these ratings on treatment retention and follow-up outcomes (i.e., severity of alcohol use, drug use, and psychiatric status as measured by the Addiction Severity Index). Results revealed that patients' positive perceptions of their counselors were significantly associated with a longer length of stay in treatment for the outpatient drug free/day treatment and residential treatment subsamples. Patients' positive perceptions were also significantly associated with better psychiatric functioning at follow-up, but had a limited relationship to severity of alcohol use and no relation to severity of drug use.
Related Concept Videos
Elements Crucial for Effective Psychotherapy
The Therapeutic Alliance
The therapeutic alliance refers to the relationship between the therapist and the client. The alliance strengthens when the therapist and the client engage in a nurturing, supportive, trusting, empathetic, and respectful relationship, improving therapeutic outcomes. Therapists must monitor this relationship...
Drug Therapy
Antianxiety Medications
The Placebo Effect
Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Drug Dependence
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: Affecting Factors
