Braga, Raffaella (9/14) Client and therapist personality characteristics affecting psychotherapy dropout at a psychological training clinic (Nicole M. Cain, Ph.D.; Nicholas Papouchis, Ph.D.;Linda Penn, Ph.D.)
Previous research has often neglected the investigation of dropout in a training clinic setting, as well as the client and therapist personality variables related to dropout in such settings. This study intended to address this paucity of data by examining the role that client and therapist interpersonal problems and attachment may have in predicting dropout in a training clinic setting. Participants included 373 clients who sought treatment at an urban, multicultural university clinic, and 36 trainee therapists. The overall results were statistically non-significant, and the effect sizes among the independent and dependent variables ranged from small to negligible. However, results on client ethnicity and dropout, and results on the time when trainees are at high risk of having clients dropping out, may have important training implications.
