Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Συμβουλευτική ΨυχολογίαLibrary of the School of Education
Supervisors info:
Παπαρρηγόπουλος Θωμάς, Καθηγητής Ψυχιατρικής, Ιατρική Σχολή Ε.Κ.Π.Α
Original Title:
Η θεραπευτική συμμαχία στις εξαρτήσεις: Η διερεύνηση της εμπειρίας θεραπευτή και θεραπευόμενου και της σύνδεσής της με την παραμονή στη θεραπεία"
Translated title:
Working alliance in the field of substance abuse treatment: A study of patient's and therapist's experience and the relationship between working alliance and retention to treatment.
Summary:
This paper focuses on the study of working alliance in the field of substance abuse treatment. This study aims to highlight the working alliance as it is experienced by participants in healing process (therapists and persons under treatment) and to study the relationship between working alliance and retention to treatment. Research questions focused on the experiences of therapists and individuals under treatment regarding: a) aspects of working alliance which helped to its development, b) personal features contributing or preventing a good collaboration, c) factors of the therapy process related to higher level of the working alliance, and d) influence of other external factors.
The participants were seven mental health professionals, experienced in the therapy of substance disorder, and seven clients who were selected while being in the main phase of therapy and had completed at least seven sessions. The research was carried out in the open psychotherapy unit "Athena" which belongs to the 1st Psychiatric Department, Aiginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, in collaboration with the Organisation Combating Drugs (ΟΚΑΝΑ).
The present study was conducted based on qualitative approaches. For the qualitative evaluation of the therapeutic alliance, individual interviews were conducted based on interview guides adapted to the needs of the participants' group. The interview data, categorized and analyzed in the light of the phenomenological research approach. constituted a total of seven thematic units and 14 subcategories. Additionally, the Therapeutic Alliance Questionnaire, the Greek adaptation of the Working Alliance Inventory (Horvath and Greenberg, 1989), were used to estimate working alliance levels in a qualitative approach.
The results of this work are discussed with the aim of contributing to the existent knowledge regarding the development of working alliance in the field of substance abuse treatment.
Main subject category:
Health Sciences
Keywords:
therapeutic relationship, working alliance, bond, substance abuse therapy, drug addiction, therapy coherence, therapeutic process, therapist characteristics, client characteristics
Number of references:
106
