Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Between Nonverbal Immediacy And Therapeutic Alliance In Higher Education Client-Counselor Interactions, Valerie Kleinjan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Communication is essential to a successful patient-provider interaction. Within health communication literature, a substantial body of research has focused on verbal communication; however, few studies have fully dedicated to nonverbal communication research. The study examined the relationship between perceptions of client nonverbal immediacy and ratings of the therapeutic alliance. Additionally, the study provided an analysis comparing counselor and client ratings of both client nonverbal immediacy and the therapeutic alliance. Results indicated a significant relationship between counselor ratings of client nonverbal immediacy and counselor ratings of the therapeutic alliance. Counselors and clients also rated client nonverbal immediacy similarly, indicating that the …