Assessing Attachment in Psychotherapy: Validation of the Patient Attachment Coding System (PACS)

TY - JOUR

T1 - Assessing Attachment in Psychotherapy

T2 - Validation of the Patient Attachment Coding System (PACS)

AU - Talia, Alessandro

AU - Miller-Bottome, Madeleine

AU - Daniel, Sarah I.F.

PY - 2017/1/1

Y1 - 2017/1/1

N2 - The authors present and validate the Patient Attachment Coding System (PACS), a transcript-based instrument that assesses clients' in-session attachment based on any session of psychotherapy, in multiple treatment modalities. One-hundred and sixty clients in different types of psychotherapy (cognitive–behavioural, cognitive–behavioural-enhanced, psychodynamic, relational, supportive) and from three different countries were administered the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) prior to treatment, and one session for each client was rated with the PACS by independent coders. Results indicate strong inter-rater reliability, and high convergent validity of the PACS scales and classifications with the AAI. These results present the PACS as a practical alternative to the AAI in psychotherapy research and suggest that clinicians using the PACS can assess clients' attachment status on an ongoing basis by monitoring clients' verbal activity. These results also provide information regarding the ways in which differences in attachment status play out in therapy sessions and further the study of attachment in psychotherapy from a pre-treatment client factor to a process variable.

AB - The authors present and validate the Patient Attachment Coding System (PACS), a transcript-based instrument that assesses clients' in-session attachment based on any session of psychotherapy, in multiple treatment modalities. One-hundred and sixty clients in different types of psychotherapy (cognitive–behavioural, cognitive–behavioural-enhanced, psychodynamic, relational, supportive) and from three different countries were administered the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) prior to treatment, and one session for each client was rated with the PACS by independent coders. Results indicate strong inter-rater reliability, and high convergent validity of the PACS scales and classifications with the AAI. These results present the PACS as a practical alternative to the AAI in psychotherapy research and suggest that clinicians using the PACS can assess clients' attachment status on an ongoing basis by monitoring clients' verbal activity. These results also provide information regarding the ways in which differences in attachment status play out in therapy sessions and further the study of attachment in psychotherapy from a pre-treatment client factor to a process variable.

KW - AAI

KW - attachment patterns

KW - language

KW - measure

KW - observer-based

KW - therapeutic relationship

U2 - 10.1002/cpp.1990

DO - 10.1002/cpp.1990

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 26596847

AN - SCOPUS:84947983483

SN - 1063-3995

VL - 24

SP - 149

EP - 161

JO - Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy

JF - Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy

IS - 1

ER -