Therapeutic alliance and behavior inhibition.

Abstract The study examined whether the quality of the therapeutic alliance is associated with a tendency toward behavior inhibition. Inhibition was measured by the frequency with which the clients used the word "not" and by their verbal productivity. In treatment sessions with low-quality therapeutic alliance, clients tended to use the word "not" more often and speak fewer words. Results suggest that it could be useful for therapists to use indexes of behavior inhibition as problem markers in the therapeutic alliance.