A MEASURE OF PATIENT'S RESPONSE STYLE TO THERAPIST AND THERAPY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PATIENT RESPONSE STYLE SCALE (PRSS)

Abstract

Self-disclosure, as communication of information about one's affects, behaviors, and cognitions, has been emphasized as one of the central issues of the psychotherapeutic process. Verbal and nonverbal aspects of disclosure are important factors of psychotherapeutic communication, both for therapist and patient. This paper presents an account of the development and reliability of an observational instrument to measure patient's response style to therapist and therapy: the self-disclosure and emotional engagement. One hundred thirty eating disordered patients were interviewed using a semi-structured interview. Videotapes were assessed by two independent raters. Inter-rater reliability was good for both dimensions of the Patient Response Style Scale (PRSS): Self-Disclosure (SD) and Emotional Engagement (EEn).