Therapist effects in yearlong psychodynamic therapy: An exploratory study

Area of Science:

• Psychotherapy Research
• Clinical Psychology
• Mental Health Treatment

Background:

• Therapist effectiveness is a known factor influencing treatment outcomes.
• The dynamic relationship between therapist effects and distinct treatment phases remains under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the interplay between therapist effectiveness and treatment phase on psychodynamic therapy outcomes.
• To analyze how therapist skill influences client progress across a one-year treatment duration.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a three-level hierarchical linear model with data from 24 therapists and 65 clients in a naturalistic psychodynamic therapy setting.
• Assessed therapist effectiveness based on changes in Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45) scores across five time points.
• Examined interactions between therapist effectiveness, time, and initial symptom severity.

Main Results:

• A significant main effect of therapist effectiveness on treatment outcome was observed (p < .05).
• Significant interactions were found between therapist effectiveness and time (p < .01), and effectiveness and initial symptom severity (p < .05).
• Less effective therapists showed no significant outcome changes over time, while more effective therapists demonstrated improvement; therapist influence was greater for clients with lower initial symptom severity.

Conclusions:

• Therapist effects appear to become more pronounced as dynamic therapy advances.
• Findings suggest that initial client symptom severity moderates therapist influence.
• Further research is warranted to understand the evolving magnitude of therapist effects throughout different therapy phases.