Citation

Brown JR, Holloway ED, Akakpo TF, Aalsma MC. Community Ment. Health J. 2014; 50(2): 193-203.

Affiliation

Department of Social Work, University of Wisconsin, 800 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, WI, 54901, USA, brownj@uwosh.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10597-013-9617-3

PMID

23775240

Abstract

A strong therapeutic alliance has been shown to improve mental health treatment outcomes in adults, but this topic has not been fully explored with youth. Adolescents, particularly justice-involved youth, stand to benefit greatly from an improved treatment experience. One quality which can improve treatment is mental health providers' interpersonal skills when attempting to build a therapeutic rapport with adolescent clients. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 youth who screened positive for mental health concerns while in juvenile detention. Four themes were identified as important to improving the therapeutic alliance: Empathy, client-directed care, sequencing, and positive rapport. Suggestions for strengthening a therapeutic alliance are provided.

Language: en