Psychotherapist as a Secure Base Figure: Validation of the Secure Base Questionnaire (SBQ)

摘要

This article describes the validation of a new measure for evaluating psychotherapists' relational dimensions. The Secure Base Questionnaire (SBQ) is a self-report measure designed to assess how psychotherapists perceive themselves as a secure base for their clients. The provision of a secure base in psychotherapy consists of the therapist's ability to be consistently responsive and emotionally available, and to provide conditions for the exploration and review of the client's internal working models of self and others. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 384 psychotherapists from different theoretical backgrounds and levels of experience. The factor validity of the instrument was conducted through principal component analysis, indicating a four factors solution: sensitivity, compulsive caregiving, avoidance of uncertainty, and encouragement of exploration. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed important associations between psychotherapist attachment experiences and the provision of a secure base in psychotherapy. The results stress the contribution of attachment theory, and SBQ in particular, for understanding relational dynamics in psychotherapy research and clinical practice.