Patient-treatment fit and early engagement in therapy

The hypothesis tested in this study is that congruence between a patient's treatment assignment and his or her predilection for a particular form of treatment (in terms of the patient's beliefs about the causes of his or her problems and what will be helpful in treatment) will be related to the patient's early engagement in therapy. Using data collected in the NIMH Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program, the analyses revealed a considerable amount of support for the hypothesis, in that congruence was significantly related to patients' remaining through the first 4 weeks of treatment and to scores on two measures of the therapeutic relationship in early therapy sessions. The study is seen as a contribution to the growing literature on the role of the interaction of patient, therapist, and treatment variables in affecting processes and outcomes of treatment.