RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to present the development and analysis of the factorial structure and psychometric properties of a new self-administered questionnaire (Therapeutic Alliance in Physiotherapy Questionnaire-Patients [CAF-P]) designed to measure therapeutic alliance in physiotherapy. METHODS: The sample included 204 patients with chronic pain attending nine primary care centres. The CAF-P was developed and validated using standard methodology, which included developing items, cognitive debriefing and psychometric validation. RESULTS: CAF-P has excellent internal consistency, with Cronbach's α of 0.91 and an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.87. We propose a structure of two factors that explain 55.80 % of the variance. The convergent validity showed a moderate positive correlation with the probability of recommending treatment and with the level of satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: The CAF-P appears to be a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the therapeutic alliance perceived by patients in physiotherapy. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The results of the present study leads to further research to identify the differences in the therapeutic alliance construct between different settings or professions.