Healing occurs in the context of a relationship. There is limited research on healing relationships in part because clinician skills and attributes needed to develop these relationships have not been quantified. Data derived through an integrative review of the literature were used to develop the Healing Relationships Skills and Attributes Survey (HRSAS) submitted to an expert panel review (S-CVI = .94) and then completed by 546 clinicians from four health care organizations. The validity of the instrument was assessed using exploratory factor analysis, a concurrent survey, and discriminatory analysis. Reliability was estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α = .95).

The survey data produced three factors; Emotional Connection (α =.89); Knowing (α =.88); and Partnership (α =.87), accounting for 49.8% of variance in the data. Factor structure stability was demonstrated across groups as well as positive correlation with the Caring Abilities Index (r = .518). The instrument discriminated between theoretically diverse groups. The main effects of years of experience (Pillai's Trace = .042, F = (6, 926) = 3.345, p = .003, η² = 0.021) on the HRSAS scores was significant. Post Hoc ANOVA results indicated that all three HRSAS subscale scores—Emotional Connection (F (2,464) = 6.84, p < .001, η ² = 0.029), Partnership (F (2,464) = 4.78, p < .01, η² = 0.020), and Knowing (F (2,464) = 7.02, p < .001, η² = 0.029)—differed significantly by years of experience. It was concluded that the instrument is a reliable and valid tool to measure skills and attributes of clinicians essential for healing relationships.