Interpersonal Trauma, Therapeutic Alliance and Relationship Satisfaction: A Dyadic Examination

The aim of this study was to use the dyad as the unit of analysis in exploring the associations between interpersonal trauma and its impact on the development of the therapeutic alliance and relationship satisfaction in early sessions of couple therapy. The sample consisted of 110 different-gender couples who were seeking treatment at an on-campus midwestern university Couple and family therapy clinic. The results showed that interpersonal trauma had an impact on the development of alliance in therapy, such that male’s own trauma was negatively associated with their bond score, while their partners’ trauma was positively associated. Likewise, for male partners, when their female partners have experienced more trauma, their relationship satisfaction decreases early on and then increases by the 5th session. However, it does not reach the same level of satisfaction as male partners whose female partners have had no experience of trauma. Couple and family therapists can strengthen the therapeutic alliance, which is essential for treatment outcome, and tailor their therapeutic approach, by considering the underlying relational mechanisms when treating couple clients who report histories of interpersonal trauma.