Good working alliance and psychotherapy are associated with positive changes in cognitive performance among adolescent psychiatric inpatients.

The effects of therapeutic relationships on the treatment outcome in 45 adolescent inpatients, aged 14 to 18 years, were assessed using the Working Alliance Inventory, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the Global Assessment Scale, and The Offer Self-Image Questionnaire at entry and on discharge. Multivariate analysis revealed that a better quality of working alliance and a greater number of therapy sessions were significantly associated with positive change in cognitive performance during treatment.