Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS
Volume 46, Issue 1, Pages 34-38Publisher
WILEY-BLACKWELL
DOI: 10.1002/eat.22047
Keywords
anorexia nervosa; therapeutic alliance; adolescents; family-based treatment
Funding
- National Institute of Mental Health [MH079979, MH083914, MH093768]
- Baker Foundation (Australia)
- NIH
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Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome (remission status) in family-based treatment (FBT) and adolescent-focused therapy (AFT) for adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN). Method: Independent observers rated audiotapes of early therapy sessions using the Working Alliance Inventory-Observer Version (WAI-o). Outcome was defined using established cut-points for full and partial remission. To control for effects of early symptom improvement, changes in weight- and eating-related psychopathology prior to the alliance session were calculated and entered as a covariate in each analysis. Results: Participants in AFT had significantly higher alliance scores; however, overall scores were high in both therapies. The alliance was not a predictor of full remission for either treatment, though it was a non-specific predictor for partial remission. Discussion: Therapeutic alliance is achievable in adolescents with AN in both AFT and FBT, but demonstrated no relationship to full remission of the disorder. (C) 2012 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2013)
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