Rater Selection for Psychotherapy Process Research: An Evaluation of the State of the Art

Abstract

The main source of information on selecting raters for process research has been the practical knowledge of process researchers, not empirical data. Some of the practical knowledge that has been conveyed by word of mouth among process researchers is documented here. In addition, to elucidate rater selection practices in process research, we reviewed prominent psychotherapy process measures and compiled the rater selection information that is available for them. The information is summarized and used to describe and evaluate the state of the art in rater selection for psychotherapy process research. Recommendations are made about how current practices could be improved (e.g., by establishing guidelines for the field on what rater selection information should be provided for process rating instruments) and about needed research (e.g., the impact of rater personality features on the reliability and validity of ratings on different types of process measures).