{"title":"Clients' perceptions of therapist dishonesty.","authors":"Catherine Crumb, Barry A Farber, Hannah Ades","doi":"10.1080/10503307.2025.2561887","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Although honesty is valued highly within psychotherapeutic work, therapists, like individuals in any interpersonal situation, are occasionally dishonest. The primary objective of this study was to explore clients' perceptions of therapist dishonesty, including their views on whether and under what circumstances therapist dishonesty is acceptable.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants (N = 566) were clients currently engaged in psychotherapy who completed an online Qualtrics survey (Clients' Assessment of Tact, Concealment, and Honesty; CATCH) and the Working Alliance Inventory.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Most clients perceived their therapists to have been somewhat dishonest at least once during their treatment and believed it acceptable for their therapists to be dishonest about several topics, including their frustration or disappointment in clients. Clients who had a stronger working alliance perceived less therapist dishonesty and were more likely to view dishonesty as acceptable; these findings did not vary significantly by age, gender, race, or education level.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Clinical education on the varied nature and ethics of therapist dishonesty is indicated and ought to include discussion of instances in which less-than-complete honesty may be advisable, as well as its potential detrimental effects. Clinical training might well focus on beginning therapists' awareness of how their occasional dishonesty, including therapeutic tact, affects clients.</p>","PeriodicalId":48159,"journal":{"name":"Psychotherapy Research","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychotherapy Research","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2025.2561887","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objective: Although honesty is valued highly within psychotherapeutic work, therapists, like individuals in any interpersonal situation, are occasionally dishonest. The primary objective of this study was to explore clients' perceptions of therapist dishonesty, including their views on whether and under what circumstances therapist dishonesty is acceptable.
Methods: Participants (N = 566) were clients currently engaged in psychotherapy who completed an online Qualtrics survey (Clients' Assessment of Tact, Concealment, and Honesty; CATCH) and the Working Alliance Inventory.
Results: Most clients perceived their therapists to have been somewhat dishonest at least once during their treatment and believed it acceptable for their therapists to be dishonest about several topics, including their frustration or disappointment in clients. Clients who had a stronger working alliance perceived less therapist dishonesty and were more likely to view dishonesty as acceptable; these findings did not vary significantly by age, gender, race, or education level.
Conclusion: Clinical education on the varied nature and ethics of therapist dishonesty is indicated and ought to include discussion of instances in which less-than-complete honesty may be advisable, as well as its potential detrimental effects. Clinical training might well focus on beginning therapists' awareness of how their occasional dishonesty, including therapeutic tact, affects clients.
期刊介绍:
Psychotherapy Research seeks to enhance the development, scientific quality, and social relevance of psychotherapy research and to foster the use of research findings in practice, education, and policy formulation. The Journal publishes reports of original research on all aspects of psychotherapy, including its outcomes, its processes, education of practitioners, and delivery of services. It also publishes methodological, theoretical, and review articles of direct relevance to psychotherapy research. The Journal is addressed to an international, interdisciplinary audience and welcomes submissions dealing with diverse theoretical orientations, treatment modalities.