Person‐Centred and Experiential Psychotherapy Scale: Development and reliability of an adherence/competence measure for person‐centred and experiential psychotherapies

Abstract

Aims: This study aimed to assess the reliability of the Person Centred and Experiential Psychotherapy Scale (PCEPS), a new adherence/competence measure of person-centred and experiential psychotherapies. The PCEPS consists of 15 items with two subscales: Person Centred Process, and Experiential Process. Method: One-hundred twenty audio-recorded segments of therapy sessions were rated independently by two teams of three raters using the PCEPS. Half of the segments were 10 min long and the other half were 15 min long. Six therapists were experienced therapists and four were counsellors in training. Seven of the therapists identified their work as 'person-centred', and three identifed their work as 'process-experiential'. Three raters were qualified and experienced personcentred therapists and three raters were person-centred counselling trainees in their first year of training. Results: Interrater reliabilities were good (alpha: .68 -.86), especially when ratings were averaged across items (alpha: .87); interitem reliabilities were quite high (alpha: .98). Exploratory factor analyses revealed a 12-item facilitative relationship factor that cuts across Person-centred and Experiential subscales (alpha: .98), and a nonfacilitative directiveness factor (3 items, alpha: .89). Conclusions/Implications: The PCEPS has potential for use in RCT research as well as in counselling training and supervision, but will require further testing and validation. The assessment of treatment integrity is an essential component of psychotherapy trials (Waltz, Addis, Coerner, & Jacobson, 1993). Tests of treatment integrity have typically included assessment of both adherence and competence, that is, whether therapists accurately followed the therapy manual and also whether they did so in a competent manner. More specifically, Waltz et al. (1993) applied the term adherence to refer to the extent to which a therapist used interventions prescribed by the treatment manual and avoided the use of interventions proscribed by the manual, proposing the term competence for the level of ability shown by the therapist in performing the therapy. According to these definitions, "competence presupposes adherence, but adherence does not necessarily imply competence" (p. 620). Waltz et al. (1993) also recommended that treatment integrity checks be undertaken through analysis of audio or video recordings of the therapy sessions by independent researchers/practitioners.In the field of person-centred therapy, the first measures used to assess the competence of person-centred therapists were the Truax Scales for Therapist Accurate Empathy, Nonpossessive Warmth, and Genuineness (Truax & Carkhuff, 1967). These scales were designed for the analysis of either live observations or taped recordings of therapy sessions. The Accurate Empathy (AE) scale is a nine-point annotated and anchored rating scale, while the Non-possessive Warmth (NW) and Genuineness (G) scales are both five-point annotated and anchored rating scales. The range of inter-rater reliabi...

The relationship between expected engagement and talking therapy outcome

“…The items are taken from the Cognitive Therapy Scale-Revised (Blackburn et al, 2001), the Person Centred and Experiential Psychotherapy Scale (Freire, Elliott, & Westwell, 2013), and the Facilitative Conditions Scale from the Sheffield Psychotherapy Rating Scale (Shapiro & Startup, 1990). The measure comprises 12 items that represent cognitive and PCET components as well as common therapy conditions found in all therapies.…”

Effectiveness of school‐based humanistic counselling for psychological distress in young people: Pilot randomized controlled trial with follow‐up in an ethnically diverse sample

“…School‐based humanistic counselling uses a range of techniques to facilitate this process, including active listening, empathic reflections and helping clients to reflect on their emotions and behaviours. In contrast to CBT, SBHC is a non‐directive intervention, and counsellors are required to ‘clearly and consistently follow the client's lead’ (Freire, Elliott, & Westwell, , p.3). This means refraining from conveying to their client's interpretations, advice or psychoeducational input.…”

The goals of young people in school‐based counselling and their achievement of these goals

“…Counsellors in the experimental condition were asked to deliver school‐based humanistic counselling, which is therapeutic rather than guidance or career oriented, and is based on the Skills for Health competences for humanistic therapy (Roth, Hill, & Pilling, 2009). All sessions were recorded and a random selection of recordings audited using the Person‐centred Process Subscale of the Person‐centred and Experiential Psychotherapy Scale (PCEPS) to ensure counsellor adherence to humanistic competences (Freire, Elliott, & Westwell, 2010). One of the counsellors in the Pybis et al (submitted) trial was judged not to be adherent to school‐based humanistic practice, but their data has been included in this analysis as the principal focus of this study is on the clients' goals.…”