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Therapist competence: Its temporal course, temporal stability, and determinants in short‐term anxiety‐provoking psychotherapy
Author(s) -
Svartberg Martin
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4679(199910)55:10<1313::aid-jclp12>3.0.co;2-f
Subject(s) - competence (human resources) , anxiety , psychology , psychotherapist , multilevel model , clinical psychology , psychiatry , social psychology , machine learning , computer science
Using hierarchical linear models procedures (Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992), growth curve analyses were performed to examine the temporal course, rate of change over time, and determinants of therapist competence in short‐term anxiety‐provoking psychotherapy (STAPP) (Sifneos, 1992). Treatments were 20 sessions long, were manualized, and therapists were experienced clinicians receiving manual‐guided supervision. Patients ( N = 13) had mostly anxiety diagnoses. Results indicated that, on average, therapist competence ratings followed a flat‐line course over time. Estimated mean rate of change was close to zero and varied very little across therapists. Also, therapists who, in an initial session, were more competent in performing STAPP also intervened more frequently in a helping and protecting manner. One possible implication of the findings is that one initial evaluation may be an unbiased estimator of a therapist's general level of competence across sessions. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 55: 1313–1319, 1999.