Reflective functioning and growth in therapeutic alliance during emotionally focused group therapy for binge-eating disorder

Therapeutic alliance and reflective functioning may be important for treatment outcomes for binge-eating disorder (BED). The current study examines: (1) growth in therapeutic alliance over 20 sessions of emotionally focused group therapy (EFGT) for BED, and (2) the association between change in reflective functioning and growth in therapeutic alliance in EFGT for BED, both of which may be important for improving BED outcomes. We hypothesize that: (1) growth in therapeutic alliance will be represented by a quadratic curve (i.e., follow a high-low-high pattern of growth), and (2) a quadratic growth in therapeutic alliance during EFGT will be associated with greater increase in reflective functioning from pre- to six months posttreatment. Italian women and men with BED (N = 118) attended EFGT for BED. They completed the Helping Alliance Questionnaire-II, a measure of therapeutic alliance to the therapist at the end of each session of EFGT, and the Adult Attachment Interview pre- and six months posttreatment. The quadratic model of therapeutic alliance growth was a significantly better fit to the data than the linear model, and the quadratic growth in therapeutic alliance during therapy was associated with greater positive change in reflective functioning at six months posttherapy. The current study provides additional support for the high-low-high pattern of therapeutic growth in short-term process- oriented psychotherapies, and that the growth of alliance to the therapist over the course of group therapy may be important for facilitating improved reflective functioning.