Search

Objective The primary aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting individuals' decisions to discuss specific personal issues in psychotherapy vs on social media, either non-anonymously or pseudonymously/anonymously. Method A heterogeneous sample of participants (N = 443) completed an online survey that included assessments of their therapy experience, attachment style, attitudes towards seeking mental healthcare, and the extent of their disclosures about personally distressing topics in therapy and online under different conditions. Results Results suggest that attachment style plays a significant role in determining individuals' likelihood of discussing personally distressing topics online and in determining the extent to which they find disclosures in therapy and in anonymous and non-anonymous online spaces to be helpful. Conclusion Clinicians may find it helpful to monitor the extent to which patients disclose personal issues online, checking as to whether patients, especially younger patients and those with avoidant and ambivalent attachment styles, view psychotherapy as an appropriate domain to disclose specific personally distressful issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate clients' perceptions of changes in their therapists' provision of positive regard (PR) following their transition from in-person therapy to teletherapy. Method A total of 2,118 clients, predominantly White, female, heterosexual, and in their mid-20s, who had been working with their therapist for an average of 20 months in-person and five months in teletherapy completed a Perceptions of Psychotherapy Process Scale (POPPS). This 42-item measure investigated, at a single time-point, the extent to which participants believed that specific therapist-related behaviors, statements, or attitudes changed since shifting to teletherapy. Results An exploratory factor analysis revealed, among other factors, a factor comprised of six items related to therapist-provided PR (e.g., "my therapist makes me feel cared about"). Clients' scores on this factor indicated a marginal but significant increase in therapists' provision of PR over teletherapy; these scores also significantly predicted scores on a factor reflecting clients' engagement in teletherapy. Conclusions Despite the challenges of an abrupt shift to teletherapy, clients perceive their therapists as communicating PR to the same or even slightly higher degrees as compared to in-person therapy pre-pandemic; therapists and clients have seemingly adapted to the new demands of technology to preserve important elements of the therapeutic relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine whether and how therapy orientation is associated with psychotherapists' perceived reasons for, feelings about, and regrets around their own dishonesty in therapy. A sample of 255 psychodynamic (n= 81), cognitive-behavior (n= 92), integrative (n= 64), and humanistic (n= 18) therapists who reported having been "less than completely honest" to a client provided open-text responses regarding this occurrence. A bricoleur approach was used to identify themes among responses, and Fisher's exact test analyses were used to compare responses across theoretical orientations. The most frequent reason offered for instances of less than complete honesty was "treatment strategy" (i.e. it was deemed necessary for treatment). The most common feeling reported was discomfort, including anxiety. Most respondents reported that, in retrospect, they would not have handled the situation differently. Therapist orientation was not significantly associated to any pattern of responses to these questions. While therapist dishonesty is perceived as occurring primarily in the service of the client and tends to evoke similar reactions among therapists across theoretical orientations, most therapists report experiencing negative feelings after acting somewhat dishonestly. Training programs should encourage greater discussion about the potential benefits and consequences of therapeutic dishonesty, including instances of therapeutic tact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this multimethod study was to investigate client perceptions of the process, benefits, difficulties, and consequences of disclosing and withholding material in psychotherapy sessions. Twenty-one clients in psychotherapy, most engaged in long-term psychodynamically oriented treatment, participated in semistructured interviews and completed several Likert-type scales. Results indicate that most clients feel that therapy is a safe place to disclose, made especially so by the goodness of the therapeutic relationship; that the disclosure process initially generates shame and anticipatory anxiety but ultimately engenders feelings of safety, pride, and authenticity; that keeping secrets inhibits the work of therapy, whereas disclosing produces a sense of relief from physical as well as emotional tension; that disclosures in therapy facilitate subsequent disclosures to one's therapist as well as to family members and friends; and that therapists should actively pursue material that is difficult to disclose.

Compared the willingness of sexually abused late adolescent women (n=22) to self-disclose general and sexual information to strangers and intimate partners with that of similar women who had not been sexually abused. Results indicate that those who were sexually abused in childhood are less likely than nonabused counterparts to be highly disclosing of sexual and general information to intimate partners. (SLD)