PATTERN OF THERAPIST INTERVENTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH PATIENT COLLABORATION

To shed light on current controversy about whether interpretive interv entions have a beneficial or counterproductive effect on the therapeut ic alliance, the authors investigated the relation between type of the rapist intervention (interpretation, confrontation, clarification, enc ouragement to elaborate, empathic, advice-praise) and level of patient collaboration, rating transcripts of single psychotherapy sessions fo r thirty-nine patients. Higher proportions of interpretation and clari fication were associated with better patient collaboration, whereas a higher proportion of advice and praise was associated with poorer pati ent collaboration. The findings underscore the therapeutic value of th e patient and therapist jointly making psychological meaning of the pa tient's material but also point to the need for an optimal blend of ex pressive and supportive interventions.