Patient questionnaire on therapy expectation and evaluation (PATHEV)

This study describes the development of a questionnaire for psychotherapy patients to evaluate their therapy. Such evaluations, normally assessed only by single items, are used to judge the credibility of control groups. The PATHEV, constructed on the basis of two research questionnaires, consists of three subscales (principal component analysis, oblique rotation, N = 581 patients): Hope of Improvement, Fear of Change, and Suitability. The reliability of the scales is good to sufficient. The construct validity of the scales has been demonstrated in three studies. Up to 13% to 16% of the treatment outcome, depending on its operationalization, can be predicted by the scores assessed after the fourth session.