Therapist-client similarity on the multimodal Structural Profile Inventory as a predictor of early session impact

Views differ concerning the importance of therapist-client similarity, but the theory underlying multimodal therapy suggests that similarity would be most advantageous for treatment outcome and client satisfaction. To explore this question, 43 therapist-client pairs were evaluated with the Session Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ) after the second psychotherapy session. Similarity was determined by computing D"2 statistics from the Structural Profile Inventory, administered to both therapist and client. Regression analyses indicated therapist-client similarity was significantly predictive of client session rating on the SEQ. The more similar the dyad, the more "positive" and "arousing" (versus "still" or "dull") clients rated early sessions. Although there were several nonsignificant analyses, none of the results suggested that dissimilarity was positively associated with higher levels of client satisfaction and rapport.