Commitment Uncertainty and Alliance Formation

In couple therapy, the systemic alliance is an important process variable. However, the ways in which the systemic alliance influences therapy outcomes and factors that influence alliance development are not well understood. When starting couple therapy, 10%-40% of individuals experience commitment uncertainty or a lack of clarity about what they want for the future of their relationship (Doherty et al., 2016; Owen et al., 2012; Owen, Rhoades, et al., 2014). In the present study, the association of the systemic alliance to individual and relational therapeutic outcomes was examined. Additionally, alliance development over the first five sessions was examined in relation to pretreatment reported commitment uncertainty. Multilevel models controlling for individuals nested within couples were performed to examine how pretreatment commitment uncertainty predicted alliance development. Results revealed that all levels of the systemic alliance improved over the first five therapy sessions, but gender differences emerged in relation to the association between the alliance and outcomes at the individual and relational levels. Additionally, individuals who reported commitment uncertainty at baseline reported lower starting levels of the alliance between partners and lower perceptions of the alliance between one's partner and the therapist, but there were no significant differences in alliance development. These data suggest that couple therapy is beneficial even when individuals experience commitment uncertainty. Furthermore, the data suggest that the systemic alliance is an important element of therapy for therapists to track as part of early therapeutic change. Implications for therapists who are working with couples are offered.