Alliance, technique, both, or more? Clinicians' views on what works in cognitive-behavioral therapy for eating disorders.

Objective: This study examined clinicians' views of the roles of two elements of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in explaining treatment outcomes-CBT techniques and the therapeutic alliance.

Method: Ninety-eight clinicians who reported delivering CBT for eating disorders completed measures addressing their beliefs about what is effective in CBT, their use of specific techniques, and their own anxiety levels.

Results: Clinicians substantially overestimated the role of both therapeutic techniques and the alliance in explaining treatment outcomes in CBT.