Examining the Intersection of Program Culture, Staff Fidelity, and Therapeutic Alliance within the EPICS Model

• In Event: The Role of Practitioner-Driven Science

Abstract

Efforts to implement evidence-based practices are often equated to staff training without acknowledgement of other organizational or staff attributes that might impact staff competency in, and fidelity to, an evidence-based model. This is a critical issue given research showing that evidence-based programs delivered with poor fidelity can produce increases in recidivism relative to no-treatment comparison groups. Therapeutic alliance has also been shown to account for a substantial portion of offender outcomes independent of the treatment model in use. What is lacking is an understanding about how organizational factors intersect with staff fidelity and therapeutic alliance to affect client outcomes. Consequently, this study seeks to answer questions focused on: (1) the impact of program culture on both staff fidelity to an evidence-based model and therapeutic alliance, (2) the relationship between staff fidelity to an evidence-based model and therapeutic alliance, and (3) the relative contributions of fidelity and therapeutic alliance to client outcomes. Data collected as part of an evaluation of the Effective Practices in Community Supervision (EPICS) project across ten residential correctional programs will be used to investigate these issues.

Authors

• Kimberly Sperber, Talbert House Center for Health and Human Services Research

• Amber Manzo, University of Cincinnati

• Cara Thompson, University of Cincinnati