For November of 2011, the Pressley Ridge Therapeutic Alliance projects have included:

1. Youth in the Pittsburgh Day School are starting the week of November 7th, 2011 to rate their Teacher/Counselors using the Working Alliance Inventory.

   The scale is based on Bordin’s definition of alliance and captures three key alliance aspects:

   • Agreement on the tasks of therapy
   • Agreement on the goals of therapy/service, and
   • Development of an affective bond

   This pilot project has the goal of creating a culture of feedback in the program by integrating formal youth feedback, assessing and adjusting the fit between Teacher/Counselor and the youth for maximum effect, and to use the youth’s voice in the delivery of services.

2. The second part of the project is to determine if there is a relationship between staff characteristics and their effectiveness in engaging youth in a working alliance. To this end, the Sixteen Personality Factor (16PF) has been purchased and 100 staff will complete the survey. We will also examine staff outcomes related to retention, job performance, and their 2 year job trajectory to determine if there are correlations between certain characteristics and their “fit” with Pressley Ridge values which is used in our talent management and selection practices.
3. Third part of the Therapeutic Alliance project is to strengthen the training and supervision to improve Therapeutic Alliance across the organization’s programs.

More Information

If you have any questions or suggestions about the Therapeutic Alliance and their activities, please contact Annette Trunzo at (412) 872-9458 or e-mail atrunzo@pressleyridge.org.