Moving Beyond Rapport: The Importance of Active Facilitation of Therapeutic Alliance in Adult Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation

Abstract

Purpose: Therapeutic alliance (TA) is critical to rehabilitation outcomes for adults with acquired brain injuries (ABIs). The purpose of this viewpoint article is to review factors that contribute to TA and to suggest ways speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can integrate these factors into their ABI rehabilitation practice. Method: We evaluated literature describing client and clinician factors shown to affect—or not affect—TA in ABI rehabilitation and mapped findings onto suggested practices that SLPs may use to actively promote TA with their clients. Informed by our findings and TA frameworks, we integrated findings into a novel clinician self-reflection tool: the Therapeutic Alliance Reflection Checklist. Conclusions: TA is a key ingredient in ABI rehabilitation. We contend that SLPs can, and should, actively facilitate TA with clients; the self-reflection checklist can assist. We advocate for continued TA research and improved measurement across rehabilitation settings. We further contend that training in active TA-promoting skills is a critical component of speech-language pathology education.