A social identity analysis of working alliance

Abstract

The working alliance between therapist and client is a necessary component of therapy success. The working alliance is robustly linked to desirable therapy outcomes. In saying this, conceptualisation of the working alliance construct is widely recognised as lacking. Weak conceptualisation is problematic because the working alliance (and its benefits) cannot reliably be harnessed in practice. In this thesis, I propose a new social identity model of working alliance. Across five studies, evidence for the role of key social psychological/group-based phenomena - including social identification, identity leadership, and the procedural justice of voice - is presented to support a cohesive, theory-grounded account of working alliance, applicable in multiple help-centric settings (i.e., therapeutic, organisational). Firstly, two initial experiments replicate the voice effect and working alliance, demonstrating that both constructs are operative in organisational and affective settings. Secondly, one experiment utilising a clinical sample of people both employed and in therapy for diagnosed mental illness provides evidence for a social identity model of working alliance in a novel path analysis. In this model, group-based processes significantly account for the majority of variance in working alliance, and the working alliance mediates the relationship between group-based processes and downstream well-being. Thirdly, one in-person laboratory experiment replicates the social identity model of working alliance, in addition to evidencing the added boundary condition of listening quality (i.e., active listening). Finally, one online experiment utilises an e-therapy simulation to test operationalisations of: (1) identity leadership, and (2) voice provision, as theory-driven strategies for working alliance. The current thesis has conceptual and practical implications for social psychology and clinical psychology. Overall, the current research program presents a strong case for a social identity model of working alliance and, in doing so, also provides an implementable roadmap and associated tools for those seeking to cultivate working alliance. Show more