Psychometric properties of the Helping Alliance Questionnaire-I in psychodynamic psychotherapy for major depression

Abstract

The psychometric properties of the Helping Alliance Questionnaire-I were analyzed at two times in short-term psychoanalytic supportive psychotherapy for outpatient depression. Exploratory factor analysis conducted in 142 patients generated a model that was confirmed in a different validation sample (n=106) using confirmatory factor analysis. Two factors were found to have satisfactory psychometric properties and a consistent structure over time: relationship and internal change. The authors conclude that reporting on the HAQ-I with separate scores for these individual aspects of alliance offers a more precise assessment and is preferable to using a single general alliance score.