We are a research team from the University of Queensland’s School of Psychology, and we are seeking participants for a study of alliance and social identification in therapy. We are looking for participants who are recent or current clients of group or individual psychotherapy, or other wellbeing related support groups to participate.

Much of the research to date, shows us that therapy is effective, but there is less understanding of how it works. The aim of this research is to determine the processes through which psychotherapy (e.g., cognitive behaviour therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, interpersonal therapy etc.), both undertaken individually and in group treatment, improves outcomes for clients. While past research has identified the importance of therapeutic alliance, more recent research has emphasised the contribution that socially identifying with a therapist and or treatment group has on outcomes. This research will explore both these processes to determine their contribution to treatment outcomes. This kind of research is very important to helping us understand not only how to make therapy more effective for clients but also how reduce things such as early drop-out and barriers to therapy progress.

With so many people engaging in therapy during Covid-19, we believe this research comes at a very important time. If you are eligible and willing to participate you can find the link to access our survey below. However, if you are not eligible but are happy to share the link in your networks or you know friends, family members, colleagues who can participate and would like to send it on, we would be very grateful for your support!

[https://uqpsych.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV\_e2wjFZ57RJcw3JQ](https://uqpsych.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e2wjFZ57RJcw3JQ)

Got any questions or feedback about this? My email is: [nikola.sterling@uqconnect.edu.au](mailto:nikola.sterling@uqconnect.edu.au)

Results will be accessible to all participants and you can find details on where to access these on the debriefing page of our survey. We also hope to publish our study findings in peer-reviewed journals following the study completion.

Many Thanks for your consideration, 

Nikola Sterling, Master of Psychology (Counselling) Candidate 

Professor Catherine Haslam

School of Psychology, University of Queensland