The relationship of alliance, cohesion, and climate with outcome among college counseling populations / Rachel A. Arnold, Gary M. Burlingame, and Joseph A. Olsen

Includes bibliographical references (pages 730-731).

It is not yet fully understood how alliance, cohesion, and climate differentially correlate with client outcome in group therapy, especially when assessed simultaneously. This study aims to elucidate these relationships through an archival analysis of continuous Group Questionnaire (GQ) and Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45) data from 412 group therapy clients at college counseling centers, which were originally collected by Burlingame, Whitcomb, et al. (2018). We predicted that alliance, cohesion, and climate would each correlate with improvements in outcome and, further, that they would have similar relationships with change in outcome. Results indicate that greater alliance, cohesion, and climate are individually associated with lower distress. This relationship was significant regarding session-to-session fluctuations on individual client scores (p < .01), as well as regarding differences between clients in their personal averages across sessions (p < .01). However, when linear growth trajectories were considered, only alliance was significantly associated with improvement (p < .05). In other words, alliance, climate, and cohesion all correlate with outcome when time is ignored; however, alliance alone significantly correlates with outcome when change over time is taken into account. This study highlights the importance of the client-therapist relationship, emphasizing how alliance is significantly related to change in group therapy. Thus, therapists should prioritize a strong bond with clients.