Introduction and alliance building resources
The tasks for this 3rd topic are...
- To look at the small but consistent body of research on why some practitioners are more effective at helping people than others.
- To explore the characteristics of therapists' behaviours and why these influence outcomes so strongly.
- To debate the motion: ‘Informal discussion, or chat, is a crucial part of building a working alliance between practitioner and service user’.
- Finally, discussion with your study group or mentor about what it is that enables practitioners to build a working alliance.
Here are the resources to help you become an effective practitioner
You have already watched some videos about Helpful People, now you are going to read about some research...
- Be sure to take in the classic study by Chafetz et al. which shows the importance of practitioners who are motivated to help people with addiction problems.
- Equally important is the Luborsky et al. study which shows how variable practitioners are in their effectiveness.
- You might be especially interested in the Laugharne et al. study about what service users want from their practitioners.
This link will take you to ▶︎ Helpful People Research Articles
Working alliance
Effective practitioners are able to build a strong working alliance with their service user. Here you are going to complete a Working Alliance Inventory - WAI. Be aware that practitioners tend to over-estimate their Working Alliance scores; in real treatment situations you should also ask your service user to complete a Working Alliance questionnaire (it can be found on the My Addiction Profile page) and then compare the results.
In Lifelong Learning read about Continuing Professional Development and then Practice Supervision where you will find a link to the Working Alliance questionnaire. Have a go at completing the WAI.
This link will take you to ▶︎ Lifelong Learning
When you are happy that you have done this task move on to your Reflections.