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Case managers' perspectives on the therapeutic alliance: a qualitative study
Sara Bressi Nath1, Leslie B Alexander, Phyllis L Solomon
1Bryn Mawr College, Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research, 300 Airdale Road, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010, USA. snath@brynmawr.edu
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
|February 22, 2012
Summary
Intensive case managers view relationships with consumers through motivation, monitoring, dependency, and presence. These dynamics differ from traditional therapeutic alliance models in psychotherapy.
Area of Science:
- Mental Health
- Social Work
- Psychology
Background:
- The therapeutic alliance is crucial in mental health services.
- Intensive case management (ICM) presents unique relationship dynamics.
- Existing therapeutic alliance measures may not fit ICM contexts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the nature of the therapeutic alliance in intensive case management.
- To assess case manager-consumer relationship dynamics from the case manager's perspective.
- To examine factors like likeability, perceived helpfulness, and relationship expectations.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative study utilizing content analysis.
- Analysis of open-ended responses from 49 intensive case managers.
- Focus on case managers' perspectives on their consumers.
Main Results:
- Four key themes emerged: motivation, monitoring, creating dependency, and being there.
- These themes describe the core dynamics of the case manager/consumer relationship.
- Case managers' views on likeability, helpfulness, and expectations were examined.
Conclusions:
- Current therapeutic alliance constructs may not fully encompass ICM relationships.
- The unique structure and constraints of ICM influence worker-consumer relationships.
- Further research is needed to adapt alliance measures for ICM settings.
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