Reconceptualizing the case management relationship in intensive treatment: a study of staff perceptions and experiences.

The helping relationship or alliance is theorized to be an important process variable in case management services for people with serious mental illness. Previous studies of the case management relationship borrow concepts and measures from psychotherapy research and therefore may overlook important differences in tasks, settings, and clinical roles across settings. A study of client-provider relationships as perceived by case managers, based on a qualitative study of two intensive case management (ICM) teams, is presented. The findings, which delineate positive and negative experiential elements, may be used to improve measurement of the case management relationship in future research.