The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure and the psychometric properties of the Psychotherapy Relationship Questionnaire (PRQ; Bradley, Heim, & Westen, 2005), a clinician report instrument that measures a wide spectrum of thoughts, feelings, motives, conflicts, and behaviors expressed by patients toward their therapists in psychotherapy. A national sample of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists (N = 314) of different theoretical orientations completed the PRQ, as well as the Shedler–Westen Assessment Procedure–200 (SWAP–200; Westen & Shedler, 1999a, 1999b) to assess the personality of a patient in their care. Factor-analytic procedures identified 6 transference dimensions that showed excellent internal consistencies: (a) hostile, (b) positive/working alliance, (c) special/entitled, (d) anxious/preoccupied, (e) avoidant/dismissing attachment, and (f) sexualized. Factor scores were significantly related to patients’ personality characteristics and psychological functioning, regardless of the clinicians’ orientations. The findings support that the PRQ is a valid and reliable tool for evaluating the patients’ relational patterns emerging in clinical practice in a clinically coherent and psychometrically robust way. Clinicians’ careful understanding of these patterns can be very useful for making accurate diagnostic formulations, as well as for providing a roadmap for effective therapeutic intervention.
Patient Personality and Relational Patterns in Psychotherapy: Factor Structure, Reliability, and Validity of the Psychotherapy Relationship Questionnaire
COLLI, ANTONELLO;
2017
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure and the psychometric properties of the Psychotherapy Relationship Questionnaire (PRQ; Bradley, Heim, & Westen, 2005), a clinician report instrument that measures a wide spectrum of thoughts, feelings, motives, conflicts, and behaviors expressed by patients toward their therapists in psychotherapy. A national sample of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists (N = 314) of different theoretical orientations completed the PRQ, as well as the Shedler–Westen Assessment Procedure–200 (SWAP–200; Westen & Shedler, 1999a, 1999b) to assess the personality of a patient in their care. Factor-analytic procedures identified 6 transference dimensions that showed excellent internal consistencies: (a) hostile, (b) positive/working alliance, (c) special/entitled, (d) anxious/preoccupied, (e) avoidant/dismissing attachment, and (f) sexualized. Factor scores were significantly related to patients’ personality characteristics and psychological functioning, regardless of the clinicians’ orientations. The findings support that the PRQ is a valid and reliable tool for evaluating the patients’ relational patterns emerging in clinical practice in a clinically coherent and psychometrically robust way. Clinicians’ careful understanding of these patterns can be very useful for making accurate diagnostic formulations, as well as for providing a roadmap for effective therapeutic intervention.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
