PSYCHOTHERAPY ENGAGERS VERSUS NON-ENGAGERS

Sessions that were longer (Tryon, 1989a, 1989b, 1990), deeper (Tryon, 1990), and more
satisfying to clients (Tryon, 1990) were more likely to result in clients returning for
therapy rather than dropping out. Higher client-rated helping alliances also made early
dropout less likely (Tryon & Kane, 1990).
Several limitations can be noted in the existing research on early dropouts. The
studies have all been conducted at university counseling center settings with university
student samples, so the results may not apply to long-term therapy settings. In addition,
few of the studies reported enough information to determine effect-sizes, so it is difficult
to estimate how large of an effect the studies found. Furthermore, of the studies using
intake-only dropouts, continuers were defined as those attending therapy beyond one
session after the intake, which is a poor indicator of whether the continuers actually
“bought” into the therapeutic treatment. Furthermore, few studies have investigated
therapist verbal behavior in intake sessions, which is an important predictor variable
given that therapists can only influence their clients through their verbal or nonverbal
behaviors.
Therapist Techniques
Definition of therapist techniques. Therapist techniques are defined as tools or
methods employed by therapists to facilitate effective therapy or positive behavior
change in clients (Harper & Bruce-Sanford, 1981). Therapist techniques can be
operationalized in various ways (e.g., Highlen & Hill, 1984; Schaffer, 1982): in terms of
type or content, verbal versus nonverbal expression, intentionality, the manner in which
the technique is implemented (e.g., level of warmth, empathy, and genuineness), and the
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