The Effects of Mood on Observers’ Initial Evaluation of the Therapeutic Relationship

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00039061

Enrollment

130

Registered

2026-02-25

Start date

2026-03-25

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-04-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

No health conditions

Interventions

Group 1: Positive mood intervention (through a guided imagination, about 4 minutes long) Group 2: Negative mood intervention (through a guided imagination, about 4 minutes long)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

Female

Age

18 Years to 70 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: female

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Presence of a mental health condition

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
WHAT: Evaluation of their first impression of the therapeutic relationship between a therapist and her client by the participants. WHEN: The primary outcome will be measured once after watching an acted video of an initial therapeutic consultation. HOW: The evaluation will be done via visual rating scales that are in line with established concepts of the therapeutic alliance (e.g. appreciation, cooperation, basis for talks). The items capture the participants' evaluation of the therapist, the patient and of their interaction (e.g. "The therapist seemed appreciative", "Patient and therapist have a good basis for talks").	—

Measure

Time frame

WHAT: Evaluation of their first impression of the therapeutic relationship between a therapist and her client by the participants. WHEN: The primary outcome will be measured once after watching an acted video of an initial therapeutic consultation. HOW: The evaluation will be done via visual rating scales that are in line with established concepts of the therapeutic alliance (e.g. appreciation, cooperation, basis for talks). The items capture the participants' evaluation of the therapist, the patient and of their interaction (e.g. "The therapist seemed appreciative", "Patient and therapist have a good basis for talks").

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
The effectiveness of the mood induction will be assessed by measuring participants’ current mood at three different time points using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) as well as three additional general items (“How is your mood right now?”, “How is your current well-being?”, “How stressed do you currently feel?”) Their mood will be assessed at the following time points: T1: Before mood induction (baseline) T2: Immediately after mood induction T3: After viewing the video and prior to rating the therapeutic relationship These repeated assessments serve to verify the effectiveness and temporal stability of the mood induction. In addition, the following psychological variables will be assessed at the beginning of the study to examine potential sample characteristics and individual differences: - BFI-K – Short Version of the Big Five Inventory (personality traits) - SPF-IRI – Saarbrücken Personality Questionnaire / Interpersonal Reactivity Index (empathy) - Heidelberg Form for Emotion Regulation Strategies (emotion regulation) - SWOP-K9 – Self-Efficacy, Optimism, and Pessimism Short Scale These measures will be collected for descriptive purposes and to explore potential individual differences that may relate to observer ratings.	—

Measure

Time frame

The effectiveness of the mood induction will be assessed by measuring participants’ current mood at three different time points using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) as well as three additional general items (“How is your mood right now?”, “How is your current well-being?”, “How stressed do you currently feel?”) Their mood will be assessed at the following time points: T1: Before mood induction (baseline) T2: Immediately after mood induction T3: After viewing the video and prior to rating the therapeutic relationship These repeated assessments serve to verify the effectiveness and temporal stability of the mood induction. In addition, the following psychological variables will be assessed at the beginning of the study to examine potential sample characteristics and individual differences: - BFI-K – Short Version of the Big Five Inventory (personality traits) - SPF-IRI – Saarbrücken Personality Questionnaire / Interpersonal Reactivity Index (empathy) - Heidelberg Form for Emotion Regulation Strategies (emotion regulation) - SWOP-K9 – Self-Efficacy, Optimism, and Pessimism Short Scale These measures will be collected for descriptive purposes and to explore potential individual differences that may relate to observer ratings.

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Countries

Austria

Contacts

Public ContactBarbara Pammer

Universität Graz

barbara.pammer@uni-graz.at+43 316 380 5133

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: May 1, 2026