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Person-Centered Care and the Therapeutic Alliance

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Abstract

Person-centered care has been gaining prominence in behavioral health care, and service planning has shifted towards “person-centered care planning” (PCCP), where individuals, in partnership with providers, identify life goals and interventions. A strong therapeutic alliance has been identified as key to a person-centered approach, but little is known about how the therapeutic relationship influences person-centered processes and outcomes. Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, this study investigated: (1) the association between the therapeutic alliance and PCCP, and (2) how the therapeutic relationship influences the process and outcomes of PCCP. Quantitative analyses found that a strong working alliance predicted greater personcenteredness. Qualitative analyses revealed two central themes: (1) the importance of connection, continuity, and calibration of the relationship to set the right conditions for PCCP, and (2) PCCP as a vehicle for engagement. Findings demonstrated that the therapeutic alliance is inextricably linked to the PCCP process, each influencing the other.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, New York University, 41 East 11th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Emily K. Hamovitch

  2. Silver School of Social Work, New York University, 1 Washington Square N, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Mimi Choy-Brown & Victoria Stanhope

Authors
  1. Emily K. Hamovitch
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  2. Mimi Choy-Brown
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  3. Victoria Stanhope
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Correspondence to Emily K. Hamovitch.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicting interests. Authors certify their responsibility for the manuscript.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the Ethical Standards of the Institutional and/or National Research Committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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All participants in this study provided informed consent.

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Hamovitch, E.K., Choy-Brown, M. & Stanhope, V. Person-Centered Care and the Therapeutic Alliance. Community Ment Health J 54, 951–958 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-018-0295-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-018-0295-z

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