Adolescent Readiness for Change and the Working Alliance in Counseling

• Published in: Journal of counseling and development Vol. 86; no. 4; pp. 438 - 445
• Main Authors: Fitzpatrick, Marilyn R., Irannejad, Shahrzad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 22-09-2008; American Counseling Association; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Adolescent Attitudes; Adolescents; Alliances; Attachment Behavior; Behavior; Behavior Change; Behavior Modification; Bond issues; Bonds; Change (Psychology); Client relationships; Cluster analysis; Collaboration; Correlation; Counseling; Counseling services; Counselling; Counselor and client; Counselor Client Relationship; Counselor-client relations; Developmental Stages; Dropouts; Evaluation; Families & family life; Family Counseling; Goals; Multivariate Analysis; Psychological aspects; Readiness; Social aspects; Student Behavior; Studies; Teaching Methods; Teenagers; Therapy; Youth; United States
• ISSN: 0748-9633; 1556-6676
• DOI: 10.1002/j.1556-6678.2008.tb00532.x

The authors examined the relationship between readiness for change and the quality of the working alliance of adolescents (ages 14–18 years) and their counselors. As predicted, clients who were more ready for change had more positive alliances, particularly with respect to goal and task collaboration. There was also a trend toward the association of the maintenance or postchange stage with a weakened bond.