Thank you so much for taking the time to read this invite. Dr Helen J. Wall (MSc, PhD, fHEA, DSFH, HPD) is conducting research to identify factors that can enhance the therapeutic alliance between therapist/practitioner and client.

The study has received full ethical approval from Edge Hill University.

Study Background

With the increase in mental health concerns (Arias et al., 2022), and the heightened burden this places upon health professionals, client retention, engagement and efficacy is more important than ever. Research shows that the rapport established in the very first session can often be one of the key factors in determining whether a client comes back for a second session (Roos & Werbart, 2013; Saxon et al., 2017; Simon et al., 2012).

Therefore, identifying the factors associated with enhancing the therapeutic alliance between client and therapist could highlight important areas for maximising retention rates and treatment outcomes. The present study aims to investigate the role of therapist-client similarity on therapeutic alliance and represents the first phase of a larger programme of research. Please note that any information provided will be kept confidential and stored securely on password protected files. Any identifiable information will be stored separately to responses and destroyed once data collection is complete.

We are very conscious of how incredibly busy you are and we have worked hard to try and make this study as accessible as possible. Please don’t hesitate to contact us directly if you have any questions at all.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and consider participating - As a thank you for participating, you will be entered into a Prize draw to win 1 of 5 £20 Amazon Gift Cards.

What will my participation involve?

1. Following the link/QR code below to complete a brief (5-10 minute) personality questionnaire. https://edgehillpsychology.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6ES67B8fsJ62qx0

2. Sharing an invitation to participate card (delivered to you by us) with all new and existing clients. Specifically, a virtual invite, physical cards and a poster will be sent to you so you can choose to display the poster, email or provide cards to clients who can then choose whether or not they wish to participate in their own time.

At this point your participation will be complete. If you are happy with the information provided and would like to take part in the study, please follow the link above to complete the questionnaire (we will then be in touch to share the client information cards with you).

If a client agrees to participate what will their participation involve?

1. Following the link/QR code provided on the study invite card to complete a brief (15-20 minute) personality, wellbeing, and therapeutic alliance questionnaire in their own time.

2. Completing the same wellbeing and therapeutic alliance questionnaire (10-15 minutes long) 6 weeks later.

Thank you so much for taking the time to consider taking part in the study. Please feel free to share this invite with friends/colleagues who may be interested in the study.

Kind Regards, Dr Helen Wall (Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Programme Leader for Clinical and Health Perspectives in Psychology)