Alliance and technique in short-term dynamic therapy

We review existing studies on the extent to which the alliance and techniqu es predict the outcome of short-term dynamic psychotherapy (STDP). Although the alliance has been found to relate to outcome in diverse psychotherapie s, evidence for its role in STDP is more inconsistent. Studies of technique factors have Provided support for the relation of competence with explorat ory interventions to outcome. Less support for the role of specific transfe rence interpretations was found. Little empirical support exists for the no tion that the technical factors are most potent in the context of a positiv e alliance, although adequate studies of this interaction are scarce. Simil arly, adequate studies that attempt to tease apart the extent to which tech nical factors influence the alliance, and vice versa, are also rare. Despit e the methodological limitations of research in this area, the fact that th ere are some consistent findings relating techniques to outcome suggests th at nonspecific relationship factors do not by themselves account for the ch anges found over the course of STDP. Moreover, such findings encourage addi tional efficacy and process research on STDP. Some suggestions for future r esearch are presented. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd.