Personality Traits and the Working Alliance in Psychotherapy Trainees: An Organizing Role for the Five Factor Model?

Ackerman and Hilsenroth (2001, 2003) suggested that therapist personality may be meaningfully associated with the psychotherapy working alliance. We extended this line of research by examining the association between Five Factor Model (Costa & McCrae, 1997b) personality traits Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, and ratings of the working alliance made by clients and psychotherapy trainees. Higher trainee Neuroticism was associated with better client ratings of the alliance, but with worse trainee ratings of the alliance. Higher trainee Openness was associated with lower client ratings of the alliance, and higher trainee Agreeableness with lower trainee ratings of the alliance. Because levels of Neuroticism were low and levels of Openness high among therapist trainees, the results suggest that average rather than low Neuroticism, and average rather than high Openness facilitate better client perceptions of the alliance. Implications are discussed in terms of monitoring and training therapists who evidence these dispositions, in order to assist them in developing maximally effective alliances with clients.