Cooper, M. orcid.org/0000-0003-1492-2260, Saxon, D. orcid.org/0000-0002-9753-8477, Duncan, C. orcid.org/0000-0002-0634-810X et al. (6 more authors) (2025) Therapist Interpersonal skills and outcomes for young people. Psychotherapy Research. ISSN 1050-3307
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Our primary aim was to assess the associations between outcomes and therapist interpersonal skills (TIS) of empathy, congruence, regard, and unconditionality, as rated by young people. We also aimed to compare these associations against outcome-alliance associations, and to assess whether these associations were specific to a TIS-prioritizing therapeutic practice.
METHODS: Our primary sample was 167 13-16-year-olds who exhibited emotional symptoms and received up to 10 weeks of school-based humanistic counseling plus pastoral care as usual (SBHC + PCAU). Young people were predominantly female (76%), with 45% Black or other minoritized identity. We measured TIS with the Barrett Lennard Relationship Inventory; and used linear regression modeling to assess TIS associations with outcomes on psychological distress, wellbeing, and satisfaction.
RESULTS: TIS, most markedly congruence, were significantly associated with outcomes, contributing approximately 3% of change. TIS and alliance explained similar proportions of outcomes, with a model including only congruence showing the best fit on psychological distress and wellbeing. We did not find consistent evidence that the TIS-outcome association was specific to humanistic counseling.
CONCLUSION: Therapists and lay professionals working with young people should strive to develop their interpersonal skills-particularly congruence-within the context of other relationship skills, qualities, and characteristics.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. |
Keywords: | Clinical and Health Psychology; Psychology; Good Health and Well Being |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ES/M011933/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 14 Feb 2025 15:46 |
Last Modified: | 14 Feb 2025 15:46 |
Status: | Published online |
Publisher: | Informa UK Limited |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/10503307.2025.2457398 |
Related URLs: | |
Sustainable Development Goals: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:223298 |
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