Effectiveness of the therapeutic process and categories of change in relational family therapy

Abstract

The effectiveness of a psychotherapeutic approach is often measured by the changes in various areas of the client’s life that result from the therapeutic process. Research in this area shows that the common factors that promote change are elements that are present in all forms of therapy, such as therapeutic alliance, empathy, positive expectations, and corrective emotional experiences. In this study, we examined changes in psychotherapy, focusing on changes in the relational family therapy model. The study was conducted with 130 participants who were divided into an experimental group and a control group, one of which participated in relational family therapy and the other was not involved in psychotherapeutic treatment. The participants completed the Systemic Therapy Inventory of Change (STIC)1 after the first therapy session and again after three months of therapy, with the same time period between the first and last test for the control group. The results of the study show that clients who participated in relational family therapy showed greater changes in various systems than those who did not receive psychotherapy. The results suggest that relational family therapy promotes positive changes in various areas of client functioning after three months of therapy.