Working Alliance Inventory - Short Revised (WAI-SR)

The Working Alliance Inventory–Short Revised (WAI-SR) is a brief measure used to monitor the quality of the therapeutic relationship between a client and clinician. CCMH members are invited to use the WAI-SR to help clinicians understand how well therapy is aligned around three core areas: goals, tasks, and bond. Because the working alliance is one of the strongest predictors of treatment outcome, regular feedback can help clinicians identify strengths in the relationship, address concerns early, and support more effective care.

What the WAI-SR Measures

The WAI-SR asks clients to reflect on their current therapy relationship and rate items related to:

• agreement on treatment goals,
• agreement on the tasks or approach used in therapy, and
• the emotional bond between client and clinician.

CCMH uses a six-item version of the WAI-SR, designed to provide a quick, practical snapshot of the working alliance over time.

Why Use the WAI-SR?

The WAI-SR gives clinicians a structured way to check in on the therapy relationship during treatment. It can help:

• identify early signs of strain or mismatch,
• support conversations about client concerns,
• guide collaborative changes to treatment goals or approach,
• strengthen the therapeutic alliance, and
• improve the overall clinical process.

How It Is Used

The WAI-SR is typically completed routinely during treatment, often before or after sessions depending on the clinic workflow. Clinicians review results alongside other clinical information and use them as part of ongoing treatment planning. The measure is most useful when it is discussed openly and revisited over time.

The WAI-SR is not a performance evaluation tool for clinicians. It is intended to support clinical care, supervision, and quality improvement—not personnel review. Results should always be interpreted by trained professionals and considered in the context of the client’s goals, culture, and treatment situation.

What Clients Can Expect

Clients may see the WAI-SR as a short, repeatable check-in about how therapy is going. The measure can help start meaningful conversations about whether treatment feels helpful, whether goals still fit, and whether anything in the therapeutic relationship needs attention.

How Results Are Interpreted

WAI-SR scores are reviewed over time to look for patterns, changes, and possible concerns. Higher scores generally suggest a stronger alliance, while lower scores may signal a need to explore the relationship, treatment goals, or therapy tasks more carefully. There are no universal cutoff scores; clinicians use the results as part of thoughtful, individualized clinical decision-making.

CCMH members interested in learning more about the WAI-SR can access the WAI-SR and the WAI-SR Manual in their Clinical Member Information Folder.

The copyright for the WAI-SR is held by the Society for Psychotherapy Research (SPR), which is an international organization dedicated to the study of psychotherapy. SPR has given permission for CCMH to offer the WAI-SR to its membership for clinical and research purposes. As discussed above, it should be made clear that the WAI-SR may never be used for performance or personnel evaluations.