The psychotherapist’s persuasiveness: Relation to the working alliance and facilitative interpersonal skills

Abstract

The psychotherapist’s persuasiveness has been suggested as a crucial skill for therapeutic success. However, it remains one of the psychotherapist interpersonal skills least studied. This correlational and observational study examined the relationship between the psychotherapist’s persuasiveness and working alliance and the relationship between the psychotherapist’s persuasiveness, and facilitative interpersonal skills. Thirty-eight psychotherapy session recordings were rated using the Therapist’s Persuasiveness Rating Scale, the Working Alliance Inventory–Observer Version (Short Form), and the Facilitative Interpersonal Skills In-Session to examine the relationship between the variables, using Friedman tests, Pearson’s correlations, and multilevel linear regression models. The Friedman test showed significant differences in the psychotherapist’s persuasiveness, working alliance, and facilitative interpersonal skills in the therapy sessions’ beginning, middle, and end. Pearson’s correlation test suggests that the psychotherapist’s persuasiveness positively correlates with facilitative interpersonal skills and working alliance. The multilevel linear regression suggests that the psychotherapist’s persuasiveness at the beginning of the session impacts the working alliance at all moments of the session, and the therapist’s interpersonal skills at the beginning of the session significantly impact the psychotherapist’s persuasiveness, but only at the beginning.