La importancia de las instrucciones del psicólogo para favorecer la adhesión terapéutica

This paper presents a first descriptive approach to the study of instructions in therapy as a previous step to a more comprehensive research about the influence of instructions on therapeutic adherence. Two cases treated by two behavioral therapists were analyzed throughout the treatment –one of them was an experienced therapist and the other was inexperienced one. The sessions were observed and registered with a specific coding system and The Observer XT software. Data highlight the differences in frequency and type of instructions depending on the tasks carried out by the therapists, as well as on their experience. Results provide some first hypotheses (to be proved) about the existence of different patterns of therapist instructions during the psychological treatment and allow us to establish some bases for the study of the influence of instructions on therapeutic adherence which may improve the effectiveness of psychological interventions.