Client Perceptions of Psychotherapists: An Analogue Study
Client Perceptions of Psychotherapists: An Analogue Study
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Date
1970
Authors
Campbell, Terence W.
Advisor
Goering, Jacob D.
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Abstract
In the last decade, an impressive body of empirical evidence has
accumulated which strongly suggests that psychotherapy outcome is a
function of the levels of therapeutic conditions expressed by the
therapist during the course of therapy. The empirically established
role of these "levels of therapeutic conditions" (LTC) in determining
process movement and therapy outcome suggested that they deserved and
demanded systematic investigation in their own right as dependent
variables. The primary concern of this investigation, then, was to
determine whether LTC varied in its expression across therapists, and
its perception across clients. It was hypothesized that psychotherapeutic
orientation and client interpersonal style interact in
determining client perceptions of psychotherapists.
The experimental design developed for this study was a modification
of Strupp's (1962) analogue procedure. Measures of interpersonal style-using
Schutz's FIRO-B (1966)--were gathered from 378 college students
at the University of Maryland. Approximately a week later, the Ss were
randomly assigned to view one of the films in the film series Three
Approaches to Psychotherapy. Immediately after viewing the film, the
Ss were instructed to complete Barrett-Lennard's Relationship-Inventory in regards to how they would perceive the therapists if they were
working with him as a client.
The data were analyzed by means of analysis of variance procedures.
The design was a 3 x 3 x 2 factorial analysis of variance (three
therapeutic orientations x three client interpersonal styles x client
sex). The first order interaction between therapists and clients was
not significant (p <.240). However, the second order interaction
(therapeutic orientation x client interpersonal style x client sex)
did approach significance (p < .065), indicating that the first order
therapist x client interaction was differential by sex. Subsequent
analyses of variance were performed separately for males and females.
For females, the therapist x client interaction was significant
(p < .05), but this interaction was not significant for the male data.
In discussing these results, two points were emphasized:
(1) Those therapist behaviors which were perceived as facilitative
and favorable by some clients, were not necessarily perceived as such
by other clients; (2) The sources of variance in client perceptions
were not as attributable to either therapist or client effects by
themselves, as they were attributable to the interactive, system
effects of the therapist-client dyads. Furthermore, the differential
interaction effects between therapist and client variables and client
sex were discussed in the context of sex-roles as conventionally
defined at a societal level. Finally, the psychotherapeutic and
research implications of the study, and its limitations, were considered.