Observer Ratings of Leader Empathy, Openness, and Perceptiveness: The Impact of Timing on Group Climate

The current study explored observer rated leadership empathy, perceptiveness, and openness, session number, and their associations with group climate during a 12-week group therapy randomized controlled trial (RCT) to treat perfectionism. Seventy group members from ten psychodynamic-interpersonal psychotherapy groups completed the Group Climate Questionnaire at the third and ninth treatment sessions and trained observers rated the co-leaders' empathy, perceptiveness, and openness at the second and sixth treatment sessions. Higher combined leader perceptiveness was positively associated with greater group member engagement across all sessions. A significant interaction was found between leader openness and session number in predicting group member engagement, wherein early session leader openness was not predictive of engagement levels, but later session openness was positively predictive of engagement. Leader empathy at the second session had a significant, negative interaction with member conflict, while leader empathy during the sixth session was not predictive of member conflict. A significant interaction was found between leader rated perceptiveness and time of assessment (early versus late) with regard to member conflict. In early, but not late sessions, high group leader perceptiveness was predictive of less member conflict. Greater leader empathy and perceptiveness during early, but not later, sessions were linked to less member rated conflict. Leader openness during later, but not early, sessions was associated with greater member rated engagement. Higher perceptiveness was associated with greater group engagement during both group sessions. Research and clinical implications are discussed.