Can two psychotherapy process measures be dependably rated simultaneously? A generalizability study.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Psychotherapy Research

Background:

• Observer ratings are crucial in psychotherapy research for data collection.
• Human observers can introduce variability into ratings.
• Assessing multiple instruments concurrently may affect rating dependability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if raters can assess two psychotherapy process measures simultaneously.
• To evaluate the dependability of scores when multiple instruments are rated concurrently.

Main Methods:

• Two studies were conducted comparing rating scores.
• Study 1: Raters assessed either one or two instruments.
• Study 2: Raters assessed two instruments simultaneously versus expert raters assessing one instrument.

Main Results:

• Score variability primarily stems from differences in the object of measurement (e.g., patients).
• Minimal variability was observed related to raters, rater-patient interaction, or simultaneous instrument assessment.
• Dependable scores are achievable even when rating multiple psychotherapy measures.

Conclusions:

• Concurrent assessment of multiple psychotherapy process measures is feasible.
• Observer ratings in psychotherapy research maintain quality and dependability.
• Findings support the feasibility of future psychotherapy process research designs.