BACKGROUND: The quality of a therapeutic alliance is essential in psychoanalytic psychotherapy and influences the therapeutic process. This study evaluated the relationship between the level of defense mechanisms and the quality of therapeutic alliance established during psychotherapy. METHOD: Patients in psychotherapy and their respective therapists completed the Helping Alliance Questionnaire (patient version and therapist version, respectively). The level of defenses was inferred by the Defensive Functioning Scale proposed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision. RESULTS: There was no association between the quality of therapeutic alliance and the patient's level of defense mechanisms in this sample. On the other hand, there was a difference when the therapist version was compared to the patient version: patients established a stronger therapeutic alliance in relation to their therapists. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of influence of defense level in the quality of therapeutic alliance suggests that the therapist's training and personal characteristics may lead to the ability of connecting with the patient, despite impairment in their psychic functioning.
Psychotherapy; psychoanalysis; defense mechanisms; therapeutic alliance
