Westra, Henny Alice2018-11-212018-11-212018-07-242018-11-21http://hdl.handle.net/10315/35525Client change motivation is considered a key factor in psychotherapy. Existing research on motivation has largely relied on self-report, which is prone to response bias and inconsistently related to treatment outcome. In contrast, early observed client in-session language may be a more valid measure of initial motivation. The present study investigated 85 clients undergoing cognitive behavioural therapy alone (CBT) or CBT infused with motivational interviewing (MI-CBT) for generalized anxiety disorder. The aims were: (1) to compare the predictive capacity of motivational language vs. self-reported motivation, and (2) to examine the influence of treatment condition on motivational language. Findings revealed motivational language explained up to 38% of outcome variance, even 1-year posttreatment. In contrast, self-reported motivation failed to predict outcome. Moreover, MI-CBT was associated with a decrease in detrimental motivational language compared to CBT alone. These findings support attending to motivational language in CBT and responding to these markers using MI.enAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.PsychologyElectronic Thesis or Dissertation2018-11-21MotivationResistanceCounter-change talkAnxietyCognitive behavioural therapyTreatment outcomes