Objective: There is a very limited amount of research on the relationship between therapist and patient in-session behavior and treatment outcome in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for panic disorder with agoraphobia (PD/AG). Additionally, the findings tend to be inconclusive. This study investigates the association between therapist competence, adherence, patient interpersonal behavior, and therapeutic alliance and outcome in a low-control CBT setting by using comprehensive measures.
Methods: Twenty-six patients with PD/AG received 12 sessions of exposure-based CBT. With regard to the outcome, treatments were classified either as problematic or nonproblematic by means of distinct criteria. Two raters evaluated the in-session behavior.
Results: Patient interpersonal behavior was significantly associated with outcome at follow-up (r = 0.49). At posttreatment, the correlation did not reach significance ( r = 0.34). Competence, adherence, and alliance were not outcome associated.
Conclusion: The findings emphasize the need for therapists to pay particular attention to patients' interpersonal behavior during treatment.
Keywords: interpersonal behavior; panic disorder with agoraphobia; therapeutic alliance; therapist competence; treatment outcome.
© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.