Therapeutic Alliance with Children and Families

Abstract

For many years the therapeutic alliance has been recognized as an important common factor that impacts treatment outcomes across models of therapy for adults. While several meta-analytic studies of adult psychotherapy have underscored the predictive value of the therapeutic alliance for better outcomes, empirical evidence for the role of relational factors in treatment of children and adolescents is only beginning to emerge and lags behind adult research. Relatively few studies involving children, adolescents, or families evaluate both the quality of alliance and outcomes. This report summarizes current evidence for best practices in the national literature which overall suggests a moderate impact of the therapeutic alliance on outcomes for children, youth, and families.