The Relationship Between General Therapeutic Orientation, Big Five Personality Traits, and Interpersonal Functioning in Substance Abuse Therapists: An Explorative Study

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to ascertain whether the therapist's general therapeutic orientation in substance abuse treatment is connected with his/her personality traits or interpersonal functioning. The orientation factors of interest were (1) technical eclecticism, (2) lengthy therapy training, (3) religiosity, and (4) enthusiasm for work. Methods: The participants (N= 162) were therapists in the Finnish inpatient treatment institutions. Personality traits were measured using a test based on the FiveFactor Model and interpersonal functioning with a vignette task. Results: The findings indicated that eclectic therapists were less conscientious in the personality test but more genuine toward the client in the vignette task as compared with the single-method therapists. Those therapists who had completed lengthy therapy training were more socially active and more open to experiences, but less conscientious than the therapists who had not completed such lengthy training; in the vignette task, the former were more empathetic and had more respect for the client. In the vignette task, religious therapists were more empathetic, genuine, and respectful toward the client than the other therapists. Enthusiasm for work was positively connected with factors such as friendliness, emotional stability, and openness to experiences. Conclusions: General therapeutic orientation was associated with personality traits and interpersonal functioning. In the future, an examination of this kind should be combined with the measurement of treatment processes and outcomes.