Interpersonal problems: self-therapist agreement and therapist consensus.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychotherapy Research
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Interpersonal problems are central to many psychological disorders.
• Understanding patient-therapist agreement is crucial for effective treatment.
• Therapist consensus on patient issues informs diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine patient-therapist agreement on interpersonal problems.
• To assess therapist consensus regarding patients' interpersonal difficulties.
• To explore factors influencing agreement and consensus in psychotherapy.

Main Methods:

• 199 patients completed the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-Circumplex (IIP-C).
• Two therapists rated each patient using an observer version of the IIP-C.
• Data collected from 10 Norwegian personality-focused treatment units.

Main Results:

• Patient-therapist agreement and therapist consensus on interpersonal problems were low to moderate.
• Therapists perceived patients as having higher interpersonal problems than patients self-reported.
• High profile similarity was observed between patient self-reports and therapist observer reports.

Conclusions:

• While overall agreement is limited, the pattern of interpersonal problems is perceived similarly.
• Therapist perceptions may indicate a need for intervention even when patients report fewer issues.
• Clinical experience and patient acquaintance did not significantly impact self-therapist agreement.