A preliminary investigation of client retrospective perception of what therapist interventions and how much are helpful

This preliminary study tested a novel application of the Multitheoretical List of Therapeutic Interventions (MULTI), an established measure of therapist intervention frequency, to assess intervention helpfulness from clients’ perspectives. We examined relationships among clients’ retrospective perceptions of intervention helpfulness, client-reported intervention frequency, and session outcomes. Trained raters used the MULTI to assess perceived intervention helpfulness based on post-therapy interviews with clients who completed Supportive-Expressive Therapy or Supportive Therapy. Quantitative and qualitative analyses suggested that clients perceived relational interventions as both the most helpful and most frequently used, followed by theory-specific techniques. Some clients retrospectively wished their therapists had used more of the interventions they already perceived as frequent and helpful, suggesting that intervention frequency and perceived helpfulness may represent distinct but related dimensions of therapeutic experience. Whereas previous research has primarily examined relationships between intervention frequency and outcomes, with mixed findings, this study extends that work by examining perceived intervention helpfulness, its relationship to intervention frequency, and associations with session outcomes. Although findings are preliminary given the small sample, this study introduces a promising method for assessing clients’ perceptions of therapist intervention helpfulness and offers a foundation for future psychotherapy process research.