Abstract

CARVALHO, Cibele; FIORINI, Guilherme Pacheco  and  RAMIRES, Vera Regina Röhnelt. Therapeutic alliance in child psychotherapy: a systematic review of the literature. Psico (Porto Alegre) [online]. 2015, vol.46, n.4, pp. 503-512. ISSN 1980-8623.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15448/1980-8623.2015.4.19139.

The present study focused on the alliance therapeutic in child psychotherapy. The literature emphasizes the importance of the therapeutic alliance in psychotherapy process, considering it a fundamental element for the success of treatment. This study systematically reviewed the research literature with aim to identify and analyze studies about this research focus. It was identified 26 separate studies that met criteria for inclusion. The review revealed a significant increase in research with this focus in the last decade, revealing characteristics of the patient, the therapist and the family that are related to the quality of the alliance between therapist and patient. It was also evidenced the strong association of the therapeutic alliance to effective treatment outcomes. We emphasize the need for better conceptualization of the phenomenon for the children, as well as its integration with instruments that measure the therapeutic alliance’s complexity.

Keywords : Therapeutic alliance; psychotherapy; children.

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