Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T18:11:10.418Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Clinical, empirical, and developmental perspectives on the therapeutic relationship in child psychotherapy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

Stephen R. Shirk
Affiliation:
University of Denver
Christopher C. Saiz
Affiliation:
University of Denver

Abstract

Despite substantial interest in the therapeutic relationship by child clinicians, relationship processes in child therapy have been neglected by clinical researchers. In this paper, clinical and empirical perspectives on the therapeutic relationship in child treatment were reviewed. Initial findings indicated that the quality of the child's affective relationship with the therapist is associated with collaboration on therapy tasks. Given the recurrent finding of links between treatment collaboration and treatment outcome, research on factors that influence children's ability to form therapeutic relationships is recommended. To this end, a developmental social cognitive model of therapeutic alliance formation is proposed.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, T., & Edelbrock, C. (1983). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and Child Behavior Profile. Burlington: University of Vermont Press.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T., McConaughy, S. & Howell, C. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: Implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 213232.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alexander, L. B., & Luborsky, L. (1986). The Penn Helping Alliance Scales. In Greenberg, L. S. & Pinsof, W. M. (Eds.), The psychotherapeutic process. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Allen, F. (1942). Psycotherapy with children. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.Google Scholar
Allen, J. G., Newsom, G. E., Gabbard, G. O., & Coyne, L. (1984). Scales to assess the therapeutic alliance from a psychoanalytic perspective. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 48, 383400.Google ScholarPubMed
Anders, T. (1989). Clinical syndromes, relationship disturbances, and their assessment. In Sameroff, A. & Emde, R. (Eds.), Relationship disturbances in early childhood (pp. 125144). New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Axline, V. (1947). Play therapy. New York: Houghton Mifflin.Google Scholar
Barenboim, C. (1981). The development of person perception in childhood and adolescence: From behavioral to psychological constructs to psychological comparisons. Child Development, 52, 129144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bonner, B., & Everett, F. (1982). Influence of client preparation and therapist expectations on children's attitudes and expectations of psychotherapy. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 11, 202208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bordin, E. S. (1979). The generalizability of the psychoanalytic concept of the working alliance. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, 16, 252260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1973). Attachment and loss: Vol. 2 Separation: Anxiety and anger. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D. (1984). The emergence of developmental psychopathology. Child Development, 55, 17.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D., Ganiban, J., & Barnett, D. (1991). Contributions to the study of high risk populations to understanding the development of emotion regulation. In Garber, J. & Dodge, K. (Eds.), The development of emotion regulation and dysregulat ion (pp. 1549). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dodge, K. (1980). Social cognition and children's aggressive behavior. Child Development, 51, 162170.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dodge, K. (1989). Problems in social relationships. In Mash, E. & Barkley, R. (Eds.) Treatment of childhood disorders (pp. 222246). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Erickson, M., Sroufe, A., & Egeland, B. (1985). The relationship between quality of attachment and behavior problems in preschool in a high-risk sample. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 50(1&2), 147166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feffer, M. (1970). A developmental analysis of interpersonal behavior. Psychological Review, 77, 197214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forehand, R., & McMahon, R. (1981). Helping the noncompliant child: A clinician's guide to parent training. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Freud, A. (1946). The psychoanalytical treatment of children. New York: International Universities Press.Google Scholar
Freud, A. (1965). Normality and pathology in child-hood: Assessments of development. New York: International Universities Press.Google Scholar
Freud, S. (1940). An outline of psychoanalysis. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Frieswyk, S., Allen, J., Colson, D., Coyne, L., Gabbard, G., Horwitz, L., & Newsom, G. (1986). Therapeutic alliance: Its place as a process and outcome variable in psychotherapy research. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 3238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gomes-Schwartz, B. (1978). Effective ingredients in psychotherapy: Prediction of outcome from process variables. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 10231035.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Guidano, V. F., & Liotti, G. (1983). Cognitive processes and emotional disorders. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Harter, S. (1988). Developmental and dynamic changes in the self-concept. In Shirk, S. (Ed.), Cognitive development and child psychotherapy. New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511524.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hinde, R. A. (1979). Towards understanding relationships. London: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Howe, P. A., & Silvern, L. E. (1981). Behavorial observation of children during play therapy: Preliminary development of a research instrument. Journal of Personality Assessment, 45, 168182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jessee, E., Jurkovic, G., Wilkie, J., & Chiglinski, M. (1982). Positive retraining with children: Conceptual and clinical issues. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52, 314322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katz, P., & Zigler, E. (1967). Self-image disparity: A developmental approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 186195.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kazdin, A. (1988). Child psychotherapy: Developing and identifying effective treatments. New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A., Esveldt-Dawson, K., French, N., & Unis, A. (1987). Problem-solving skills training and relationship therapy in the treatment of anti-social child behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 7685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kazdin, A., Esveldt-Dawson, K., Unis, A., & Rancurello, M. (1983). Child and parent evaluations of depression and aggression in psychiatric in-patient children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 11, 401413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kazdin, A., French, N., & Unis, A. (1983). Child, mother, father evaluations of depression in psychiatric inpatient children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 11, 167180.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendall, P. (1991). Child and adolescent therapy: Cognitive-behavioral procedures. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Kendall, P., & Finch, A. (1979). Developing nonimpulsive behavior in children: Cognitive behavioral strategies for self-control. In Kendall, P. & Hollon, S. (Eds.), Cognitive-behavioral interventions: Theory research and procedures. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Kendall, P., Lerner, R., & Craighead, W. (1984). Human development and intervention in child psychopathology. Child Development, 55, 7182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kendall, P. C., & Morris, R. J. (1991). Child therapy: Issues and recommendations. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 777784.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kirtner, W., & Cartwright, D. (1958). Success and failure in client-centered therapy as a function of initial in-therapy behavior. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 22, 267281.Google ScholarPubMed
Koback, R., & Sceery, A. (1988). Attachment in late adolescence: Working models, affect regulation, and representations of self and others. Child Development, 59, 135146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landisberg, S., & Snyder, W. U. (1946). Non-directive play therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2, 203213.3.0.CO;2-Q>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leahy, R., & Huard, C. (1976). Role-taking and self-image disparity. Developmental Psychology, 12, 504508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leahy, R., & Shirk, S. (1985). Social cognition and the development of the self. In Leahy, R. (Ed.), The development of the self. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Lebo, D. (1955). Quantification of non-directive play therapy process. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 86, 375378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lebo, D., & Lebo, E. (1957). Aggression and age in relation to verbal expression in non-directive play therapy. Psychological Monographs, 71, 112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luborsky, L., Crits-Christoph, P., Alexander, L., Margolis, M., & Cohen, M. (1983). Two helping alliance methods for predicting outcomes of psychotherapy: A counting signs vs. a global rating method. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders, 171, 480492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Main, M., Kaplan, N., & Cassidy, J. (1985). Security in infancy, childhood, and adulthood: A move to the level of representation. Monographs of the Society for Research on Child Development, 50(1&2), 66104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marziali, E. A. (1984). Three viewpoints on the therapeutic alliance: Similarities, differences, and associations with psychotherapy outcome. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 172, 417423.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marziali, E., & Alexander, L. (1991). The power of the therapeutic relationship. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 61, 383391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Meeks, J. (1971). The fragile alliance. New York: Krieger.Google Scholar
Mishne, J. (1983). Clinical work with children. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Moustakas, C. E., & Schalock, H. D. (1955). An analysis of therapist-child interaction in play therapy. Child Development, 26, 143157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moustakas, C. E., Siegel, I. E., & Schalock, H. D. (1956). An objective method for the measurement and analysis of child-adult interaction. Child Development, 27, 109134.Google ScholarPubMed
Munsch, J. (1989, 04). An analysis of types of social support provided to early adolescents under stress. Paper presented to the Society for Research on Child Development, Kansas City, MO.Google Scholar
Nannis, E., & Cowan, P. (Eds.). (1988). Developmental psychopathology and its treatment. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T. (1986). Behavior therapy with children and adolescents. In Garfield, S. & Bergin, A. (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (pp. 525564). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Phillips, R. D. (1985). Whistling in the dark?: A review of play therapy research. Psychotherapy, 22, 752760.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pine, F. (1985). Developmental theory and clinical process. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Rice, L., & Greenberg, L. (1984). The new research paradigm. In Rice, L. & Greenberg, L. (Eds.), Patterns of change (pp. 125). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Ross, A. (1978). Behavior therapy with children. In Garfield, S. & Bergin, A. (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (pp. 591620). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Ruble, D., Feldman, N., & Boggiano, A. (1976). Social comparison between young children in achievement situations. Developmental Psychology, 12, 192197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salzman, C., Luetgert, M., Roth, C., Creasant, J., & Howard, L. (1976). Formation of a therapeutic relationship: Experiences during the initial phase of psychotherapy as predictors of treatment duration and outcome. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 44, 546555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandier, J., Kennedy, H., & Tyson, R. L. (1980). The techniques of child psychoanalysis–Discussions with Anna Freud. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Selman, R. L. (1980). The growth of interpersonal understanding: Developmental and clinical analyses. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Shirk, S. (Ed.). (1988a). Cognitive development and child psychotherapy. New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shirk, S. R. (1988b). Causal reasoning and children's comprehension of therapeutic interpretations. In Shirk, S. R. (Ed.), Cognitive development and child psychotherapy. New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shirk, S. (1990). Developmental obstacles to child psychotherapy. In Slot, W. (Ed.), Development and clinical psychology. Amsterdam: Acco Press.Google Scholar
Shirk, S., & Renouf, A. (1992). The tasks of self-development in middle childhood and early adolescence. In Lipka, R. & Brinthaupt, T. (Eds.), Self perspectives across the lifespan (pp. 5392). Albany: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
Shirk, S., & Rossman, B. B. (1989, 04). Discrepancies between parents' and children's appraisals of problem behaviors. Paper presented to the Society for Research on Child Development, Kansas City, MO.Google Scholar
Shirk, S., Rossman, B., & Clark, C. (1989, 06). Perceived need for change as a predictor of willingness to participate in psychotherapy among children and adolescents. Paper presented to the Society for Psychotherapy Research, Toronto, Canada.Google Scholar
Shirk, S., Saiz, C. C., Green, B., & Hanze, D. (1990, 06). Measuring patient participation in child psychotherapy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychotherapy Research,Wintergreen, VA.Google Scholar
Siegel, C. L. (1972). Changes in play therapy behaviors over time as a function of differing levels of therapist-offered conditions. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 28, 235236.3.0.CO;2-P>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith-Acuna, S., Durlack, J., & Kaspar, K. (1991). Development of child psychotherapy process measures. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 20, 126131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, W. (1945). Investigation of non-directive psychotherapy. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 33, 193223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sroufe, A. (1983). Infant-caregiver attachment and patterns of adaptation in preschool: The roots of maladaptation and competence. In Perlmutter, M. (Ed.), Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology (Vol. 16). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Sroufe, L. A. (1989). Relationships and relationship disturbances. In Sameroff, A. & Emde, R. (Eds.), Relationship disturbances in early childhood (pp. 97124). New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Sroufe, A., & Rutter, M. (1984). The domain of developmental psychopathology. Child Development, 55, 1729.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stark, K., Rouse, L., & Livingston, R. (1991). Treatment of depression during childhood and adolescence: Cognitive-behavioral procedures for the individual and family. In Kendall, P. (Ed.), Child and adolescent therapy: Cognitive-behavioral procedures (pp. 165208). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Stiles, W., Shapiro, D., & Elliott, R. (1986). Are all psychotherapies equivalent? American Psychologist, 41, 165180.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stipek, D. (1984). Young children's performance expectations: Logical analysis or wishful thinking? In Nicholls, J. (Ed.), The development of achievement motivation (pp. 3356). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.Google Scholar
Strupp, H. (1986). The nonspecific hypothesis of therapeutic effectiveness: A current assessment. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 56, 513520.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vaux, A., Burda, P., & Stewart, D. (1986). Orientation toward the utilization of support resources. Journal of Community Psychology, 14, 159170.3.0.CO;2-H>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vondra, J., Barnett, D., & Cicchetti, D. (1989). Perceived and actual competence among maltreated and comparison school children. Development and Psycopathology, 1, 237255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weinstein, M. (1988). Preparation of children for psychotherapy through videotaped modeling. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 17, 131136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weisz, J. (1986). Contingency and control beliefs as predictors of psychotherapy outcomes among children and adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54, 789795.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Windholz, M., & Silbershatz, G. (1988). Vanderbilt psychotherapy process scale: A replication with adult outpatients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 5660.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, L., Everett, F., & Roisman, L. (1986). Experiential therapy with children. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Wright, L., Truax, C., & Mitchell, K. (1972). Reliability of process ratings of psychotherapy with children. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 28, 232234.3.0.CO;2-0>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zimet, S., & Farley, G. (1986). four perspectives on the competence and self-esteem of emotionally-disturbed children beginning day treatment. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 25, 7683.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed