Psychology Ph.D. Dissertations

The Provider-Consumer Relationship and Individual Well-Being: Perspectives of Adults with Serious Mental Illness and their Mental Health Care Providers

Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Psychology/Clinical

First Advisor

Catherine Stein (Advisor)

Second Advisor

Alex Goberman (Committee Member)

Third Advisor

Dryw Dworsky (Committee Member)

Fourth Advisor

Dale Klopfer (Committee Member)

Abstract

Using a sample of 60 adults with mental illness in an inpatient state hospital, the present study examined the relative contribution of mental health consumers’ reports of working alliance and provider directiveness in consumers’ perceptions of recovery-oriented service delivery, personal loss from mental illness, and individual well-being. Using a subsample of mental health consumers (n = 19) and their mental health providers (n = 9) the present study examined the congruence of perception between providers’ and consumers’ views of working alliance and provider directiveness in understanding individual well-being for consumers and providers. Findings suggest that consumers’ reports of working alliance and provider directiveness accounted for a significant proportion of the variation in their reports of recovery-orientation of services. Consumers’ reports of working alliance accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in consumers’ reports of their individual well-being. However, consumers’ scores on relationship measures were not significantly related to their reports of personal loss from mental illness. In a subsample of providers and consumers, dyadic analyses suggest that consumers’ reports of a stronger working alliance were related to providers’ reports of higher levels of directive practices. Dyadic results also suggest that greater congruence of perceptions of working alliance among consumer-provider dyads was positively related to consumers’ perceptions of recovery-oriented service delivery. Implications of findings for research and clinical practice are discussed.

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