Development of a scale quantifying expectations regarding active processes in therapy: The Expectations of Active Processes in Psychotherapy Scale (EAPPS)

Despite accumulating theoretical and empirical knowledge in the field of process research in psychotherapy, not much is known about individuals’ expectations of the mechanisms that produce change in psychotherapy. In this article we present the Expectations of Active Processes in Psychotherapy Scale (EAPPS), aimed to assess and quantify psychotherapy process expectations derived from current process constructs. Two studies with a total of 381 participants were conducted in order to assess the scale factor structure, reliability, and validity. Exploratory factor analysis indicated a seven-factor structure, which consisted of dimensions related to the patient–therapist relationship, the secure exploration of sensitive personal contents, and specific functions of the therapeutic process. The derived factors were found to have satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability, and were correlated with clinically relevant variables as well as other expectations scales, thus supporting the scale's convergent validity. The EAPPS can allow an in-depth examination of the effects of psychotherapy process expectations on therapy outcomes, as well as their mediating effects through patients’ ongoing evaluations of the therapeutic process.