ALLIANCE STRUCTURE ASSESSED BY THE AGNEW RELATIONSHIP MEASURE (ARM)

Objectives. We used a new instrument, the Agnew Relationship Measure ( ARM), to examine the alliance's dimensionality and to construct scales for use in future studies. Design. We studied the alliance as reporte d on the ARM by both clients and therapists in the Second Sheffield Ps ychotherapy Project, a randomized comparison of two contrasting time-l imited psychotherapies for depression. Methods. Clients (N = 95) and t herapists (N = 5) completed parallel forms of the (ARM) after every se ssion (N = 1120). Results. Five scales were constructed, based on resu lts of simultaneous components analyses and considerations of conceptu al coherence and comparability across client and therapist perspective s. Conclusions. Bond, partnership, and confidence overlapped statistic ally (consistent with previous studies), but there are conceptual and empirical reasons for retaining the distinctions. Openness represented a relatively independent dimension. The client initiative scale had l ow internal consistency but the items may have value for future invest igations.