The Global Therapist Competence Scale for Youth Psychosocial Treatment: Development and Initial Validation

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We describe the development and initial psychometric properties of the observer-rated Global Therapist Competence Scale for Youth Psychosocial Treatment (G-COMP) in the context of cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) for youth anxiety disorders. METHOD: Independent coders rated 744 sessions from a sample of 68 youth (mean age = 10.56 years) using the G-COMP and the instruments of alliance, involvement, CBT adherence, CBT competence. RESULTS: Inter-rater reliability coefficients, ICC(2,2), were greater than .60 for the 5 G-COMP domain scores. G-COMP scores yielded small to medium correlations with instruments of alliance (rs = .17-.44) and youth involvement in treatment (rs = .08-.53), and medium to large correlations with instruments of CBT competence and adherence (rs = .26-.63). Therapists in the research setting were rated higher compared to newly trained therapists in community clinics. CONCLUSION:Preliminary reliability and validity of the G-COMP are promising, but future research is needed with non-CBT samples.