How likely is this to be a real effect vs a confound? I imagine if I feel like therapy is working, I’m much more likely to like my therapist (similarly I’m more likely to like a physical trainer if I’m getting healthier, I’m more likely to like my teacher if I feel like I’m learning more, etc)
It’s also helpful because the wording of my post was meant to convey that “expert opinions tend to believe that the therapeutic alliance matters” (and not necessarily that I’m confident that that’s the case).
One of the papers that I referenced did flag that most of the studies are observational rather than experimental, which does validate your concern. (I think it was Arnow & Steidman 2014 which said this; I don’t know if a more recent paper sheds more light on this).
I’m not planning to look into this topic in any depth, but perhaps someone more knowledgeable can give a more definitive answer.
How likely is this to be a real effect vs a confound? I imagine if I feel like therapy is working, I’m much more likely to like my therapist (similarly I’m more likely to like a physical trainer if I’m getting healthier, I’m more likely to like my teacher if I feel like I’m learning more, etc)
Good question.
It’s also helpful because the wording of my post was meant to convey that “expert opinions tend to believe that the therapeutic alliance matters” (and not necessarily that I’m confident that that’s the case).
One of the papers that I referenced did flag that most of the studies are observational rather than experimental, which does validate your concern. (I think it was Arnow & Steidman 2014 which said this; I don’t know if a more recent paper sheds more light on this).
I’m not planning to look into this topic in any depth, but perhaps someone more knowledgeable can give a more definitive answer.