Effects of Therapist Feedback on the Therapeutic Alliance and Alcohol Use Outcomes in the Outpatient Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder.

Background: It is widely accepted that the therapeutic alliance (TA) is a mediator of psychotherapy effects, but evidence is sparse that the TA is an actual mechanism of behavior change. The purpose of this study was to provide the first systematic evidence regarding the TA as a mechanism of change in the treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Methods: Participants were 155 adult men and women presenting for individual outpatient treatment of AUD.

Impact of Pretreatment Change on Mechanism of Behavior Change Research: An Applied Example Using Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy.

Objective: With the growing recognition that, for some, significant changes in drinking occur before the first treatment session (i.e., pretreatment change), researchers have called for the careful assessment of when change occurs and its potential impact on mechanism of behavior change (MOBC) research.

Does change in self-perceived problem drinker identity relate to change in alcohol use? An examination of nontreatment seeking hazardous drinkers.

Identity change is related to reductions in alcohol use among treatment seekers, but it is unclear the extent to which identity change is associated with reductions in alcohol use among nontreatment seeking hazardous drinkers. The goal of the current study was to examine whether change in problem drinker identity (i.e.

Therapeutic alliances predict session by session drinking behavior in the treatment of alcohol use disorders.

Objective: The therapeutic alliance is recognized as an important contributor to treatment outcomes. In this study, the session-to-session interplay of the alliance (as perceived by the patient) and alcohol involvement (drinking days and heavy drinking days between successive treatment sessions) was examined. The analyses also tested the extent to which pretreatment changes in drinking altered these interrelationships.