Professional subjectivity of the client and the stability of the therapeutic contact in online counseling

The presented study is devoted to examining the relationship between the professional subjectivity of the client and the stability of the therapeutic contact in online counseling. This is the subject of the research. The aim of the work is to identify how the client's field of activity, job status, work format, and indicators of their professional orientation affect the quality of the therapeutic alliance during remote interaction. The study involved 65 clients undergoing online therapy (at least three sessions with one psychologist). Among the participants were 51 women and 14 men, aged between 22 and 57 years (mean age 34.2 years). Professional orientation was assessed across seven scales: "Strategy," "Operationality," "Information," "Management," "People," "Execution," "Objects." Hypothesis: the client's professional subjectivity, operationalized through their belonging to specific fields of activity, remote or hybrid work format, as well as indicators of professional orientation, is related to the stability of the therapeutic contact in online counseling. The INL-2 questionnaire was used for diagnosing professional orientation across seven scales, the Russian adaptation of WAI-S for assessing the stability of the contact, and a professional status questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire for this sample was α=0.91. Statistical processing included descriptive statistics, non-parametric Spearman correlations, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test with Bonferroni post-hoc correction. At the end of the study, the following conclusions were formulated regarding the assessment of the stability of the therapeutic contact. The professional subjectivity of the client, operationalized through their field of activity, job status, and work format, is significantly related to the stability of the therapeutic contact in online counseling. The theoretical significance of the work lies in the fact that the obtained results complement the model of the therapeutic alliance in the digital environment: the success of online counseling is determined not only by the competencies of the psychologist but also by the subjective characteristics of the client, including their professional and digital experience. The practical significance is that when selecting the therapy format (online or offline) and during the initial assessment of the client's readiness for remote work, it is advisable to diagnose their professional subjectivity (field of activity, job status, work format, as well as empathic and analytical orientation).