The working alliance in supported employment for people with severe mental health problems

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Author(s)
Waghorn, Geoff
Souza, Tara
Rampton, Nicole
Lloyd, Chris
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2009
Metadata
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Aims: This study examined the utility of the Working Alliance Inventory Short form (WAI-S) for measuring the working alliance between supported employment service providers and service users with severe mental health problems. Methods: Service users (n=32) and their respective service providers (n=17, 32 pairs) from five supported employment services independently rated their working alliance using the WAI-S. Findings: There was little correlation at item, factor, and total score levels, and low agreement between service users and service providers on 11 of 12 working alliance items of the WAI-S. Conclusions: These findings ...
View more >Aims: This study examined the utility of the Working Alliance Inventory Short form (WAI-S) for measuring the working alliance between supported employment service providers and service users with severe mental health problems. Methods: Service users (n=32) and their respective service providers (n=17, 32 pairs) from five supported employment services independently rated their working alliance using the WAI-S. Findings: There was little correlation at item, factor, and total score levels, and low agreement between service users and service providers on 11 of 12 working alliance items of the WAI-S. Conclusions: These findings challenge the validity of the working alliance construct in this context, suggesting that both the WAI and the WAI-S may not be optimal measures of the working alliance in supported employment. The contextual differences between psychotherapy and supported employment, and the greater divergence of user-provider perceptions, imply that the working alliance in supported employment may differ from the alliance in psychotherapy. Researchers are encouraged to investigate the nature of the working alliance in supported employment rather than project characteristics identified in other settings.
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View more >Aims: This study examined the utility of the Working Alliance Inventory Short form (WAI-S) for measuring the working alliance between supported employment service providers and service users with severe mental health problems. Methods: Service users (n=32) and their respective service providers (n=17, 32 pairs) from five supported employment services independently rated their working alliance using the WAI-S. Findings: There was little correlation at item, factor, and total score levels, and low agreement between service users and service providers on 11 of 12 working alliance items of the WAI-S. Conclusions: These findings challenge the validity of the working alliance construct in this context, suggesting that both the WAI and the WAI-S may not be optimal measures of the working alliance in supported employment. The contextual differences between psychotherapy and supported employment, and the greater divergence of user-provider perceptions, imply that the working alliance in supported employment may differ from the alliance in psychotherapy. Researchers are encouraged to investigate the nature of the working alliance in supported employment rather than project characteristics identified in other settings.
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Journal Title
International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation
Volume
16
Issue
6
Publisher URI
Copyright Statement
© 2009 MA Healthcare. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Clinical Sciences not elsewhere classified
Clinical Sciences