Therapeutic working alliance in brief therapy with college students: In-person versus telemental health

This study compared the therapeutic working alliance in brief counseling
using two delivery methods: synchronous video delivery and in-person
delivery. The alliance was measured using the Working Alliance Inventory
(client version). Participants were 49 undergraduate college students
between the ages of 18 and 22. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy was the
treatment protocol, and the study used a randomized, controlled design.
Welch’s t-tests and non-inferiority analyses were conducted, in addition
to hierarchical regression analyses to examine the predictive value of the
working alliance on post-treatment anxiety. Non-inferiority statistical
analyses indicated that there was no statistically significant difference
in working alliance for online delivery compared to in-person. A
hierarchical regression anaIysis suggests that the therapeutic working
alliance contributed to anxiety treatment outcomes for college student
participants.