Barry Farber

Columbia University | CU · Department of Psychology

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...

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-...

Client nondisclosure about their eating disorders may result in significant delays in receiving treatment and subsequent poorer long-term outcomes. Despite these consequences and the high mortality rate among eating-disordered clients, there is a dearth of research on the concealment of or lying about symptomatology among this population. The prese...

Psychotherapist ghosting is a type of inappropriate, therapist-initiated termination of treatment in which the therapist ceases communication with their patient without prior notice. A total of 77 patients (M age = 34) who reported being ghosted by their therapist completed a web-based therapist ghosting survey (TGS) that assessed their perceptions...

This study investigated multiple aspects of therapists’ provision of positive regard (PR), including their assessment of the importance of PR in their practice, their sense of which specific aspects of PR are most affirming, and their perception of which aspects they provide most frequently to their clients. A total of 269 psychotherapists, primari...

Honest communication between therapists and clients is an essential part of the process and values of psychotherapy, but the topic of therapist dishonesty has remained virtually unexplored. This study examined the prevalence, motivations, and perceived consequences of therapist dishonesty. Data were compiled from a Qualtrics survey, including sever...

This study explored the nature of disclosure in psychotherapy among respondents who reported particular difficulty being honest in psychotherapy about their self-harm, substance abuse, or disordered eating. Differences in overall honesty in psychotherapy (across 33 topics) and distress disclosure were examined between clients who reported most diff...

Objective: The current study aims to ascertain the trajectories of psychotherapy clients' symptom change and identify client factors that predict treatment outcome. Method: We conducted a latent growth mixture model (LGMM) to identify the change trajectories of 44 clients' depression scores during psychotherapy. Client characteristics were then...

This article addresses the question “Why do people become psycho- therapists?” via two approaches. The first involves an examination of the empirical and clinical literature on motivations and influences common to most psychotherapists. The second approach explores multiple path- ways to becoming a psychotherapist by considering distinct gender-lin...

This study investigated psychotherapists' media use since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 186 psychotherapists completed a 15-item self-report survey on the movies and TV shows they had watched, and the reasons for their choices, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicated therapists primarily watched material they...

Psychotherapeutic treatment tends to have a high attrition rate (“premature termination”) and there have been multiple efforts to help new patients, including those considering treatment, better understand the nature and expectations inherent to this process as a means to improve retention and outcome. These efforts are often grouped under the term...

This study investigated psychotherapists' media use since the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic. A total of 186 psychotherapists completed a 15‐item self‐report survey on the movies and TV shows they had watched, and the reasons for their choices, since the outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Results indicated therapists primarily watched material they...

Findings from a large sample of therapy clients indicate that substance use is among the most widely reported topics of dishonesty; that the primary motives for this dishonesty are shame, fear of being judged by one's therapist, and concern about real‐world consequences of disclosure (e.g., being sent to a rehabilitation facility); and that the mos...

This issue of Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session focuses on the nature and consequences of psychotherapy clients' disclosures, secrets, and dishonesty, with a particular emphasis on the ways in which therapists can best facilitate greater and more honest disclosure. This introduction to this issue reviews the growing theoretical and empiric...

This review of Clara E. Hill’s book, Meaning in Life: A Therapist’s Guide, emphasizes the author’s exemplary focus on the ways that clinicians can profitably integrate discussion of clients’ meaning in life (MIL) issues within therapeutic work. This book is replete with valuable clinical advice, case material, and insights, including the astute awa...

To explore current attitudes among Jewish students, faculty, and leaders of Jewish campus organizations regarding the putative exclusion of Jewish concerns from campus dialogs around diversity, we recruited 40 such individuals to engage in a semi‐structured interview. The consensus among our interviewees was that there is a significant, ongoing, an...

This chapter meta-analytically reviews the research on the association between therapist positive regard and treatment outcome. The history of the construct of unconditional positive regard in client-centered theory, as well as the efforts to operationalize and measure this construct, are reviewed. Several clinical examples are presented. The meta-...

Psychotherapy Relationships That Work is the definitive, evidence-based book on the topic: Volume 1 contains 16 chapters that address what works in general and Volume 2 consists of 11 chapters that address what works for particular patients. Each chapter presents definitions, clinical examples, landmark studies, comprehensive meta-analyses, diversi...

This paper provides data on the experiences of 267 patients, all with self‐reported symptoms of depression or anxiety, engaged in an interactive text‐based delivery system for psychotherapy. The paper also offers a case study that illustrates the use of this treatment, indicating ways in which such systems can be useful for patients who may not acc...

This article meta-analytically reviews the research on the association between therapist positive regard (PR) and treatment outcome. The history of the construct of unconditional PR in client-centered theory and the efforts to clearly operationalize and measure this construct are reviewed. Several clinical examples are presented. The updated meta-a...

Objective: To identify psychotherapy clients' motives for concealing suicidal ideation from their therapist, and their perceptions of how their therapists could better elicit honest disclosure. Method: A sample of 66 psychotherapy clients who reported concealing suicidal ideation from their therapist provided short essay responses explaining the...

Our study aimed to learn about an under-researched but seemingly common phenomenon in psychotherapeutic practice: the extent to which therapists, like individuals in any interpersonal situation, occasionally are dishonest.

Our study aimed to learn about an under-researched but seemingly common phenomenon in psychotherapeutic practice: the extent to which therapists, like individuals in any interpersonal situation, occasionally are dishonest. We aimed to answer 3 main questions: 1) To what extent are therapists dishonest or somewhat dishonest? 2) Can multiple types of...

Co-authored and presented poster that reports on findings from an exploratory study that identified the top topics of therapists' dishonesty (most frequent forms of dishonesty) that occur relatively infrequently and we suggest that these should be understood in the context of psychotherapy and outcome.

Co-authored and presented poster that reports on 3 statistical analyses [Principal Components Analysis (PCA), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Logistic Regression] from exploratory study that corroborated our identification of a clear theme: middle-aged, licensed professionals in practice between 11-20 years and with larger numbers of clients tend...

The election and postelection policies of Donald Trump have seeped into the psychotherapy sessions of many clients, in ways that are somewhat unique but also somewhat reminiscent of the ways that other dramatic social–political events, including 9/11 and the social divisions that were characteristic of the 1960s, were brought into the treatment roo...

Objectives: This study sought to investigate client dishonesty in psychotherapy through the trait of self-concealment. We hypothesized that comparing low and high self-concealers would yield clinically significant differences in the nature, motives, and perceived consequences of client dishonesty. Method: A total of 572 respondents, self-reported a...

Objective: This study investigated how, when, why, and with whom therapists in training utilize "informal supervision"-that is, engage individuals who are not their formally assigned supervisors in significant conversations about their clinical work. Method: Participants were 16 doctoral trainees in clinical and counseling psychology programs. S...

This article uses both a case illustration and data from a large-scale survey of outpatient clients (N = 798) to understand the client's perspective about avoiding or being dishonest with his or her therapist about sexual topics. The case study, of a gay young man working with a heterosexual female therapist, explores this client's experience of wh...

This study explores the effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy in improving facets of object relations (OR) functioning over the course of treatment. The sample consisted of 75 outpatients engaged in short-term dynamic psychotherapy at a university-based psychological services clinic. Facets of OR functioning were assessed at pre- and posttre...

This study investigated positive regard (PR) in the psychotherapeutic relationship, seeking to identify its primary components. A total of 540 psychotherapy clients completed several web-based measures of PR and the therapeutic alliance, including two Likert-type instruments designed for this study, reflecting a variety of therapist behaviors and s...

Key practitioner message: Psychodynamic psychotherapy seems to be effective in improving object relations functioning. Consider use of psychodynamic techniques early in treatment with patients expressing more pathological object representations. Improvements in object relations functioning during psychodynamic psychotherapy are also related to ada...

Objectives: The primary aim of this study was to investigate one facet of a survey of client lying in psychotherapy, that which focused on the nature, motivation, and extent of client dishonesty related to psychotherapy and the therapeutic relationship. Method: A total of 547 adult psychotherapy patients reported via an online survey, incorporating...

While psychotherapy offers young adults a private and confidential avenue for speaking about psychologically sensitive personal information, Facebook has recently emerged as a pervasive and culturally normative platform for personal disclosure. The present study investigated young adult clients’ levels of disclosure across these two contexts, varia...

This introduction to this issue of JCLP: In Session (“Reflections of Senior Therapists”) focuses on the multifaceted ways in which adult development influences what it means to be a psychotherapist and to do the work of psychotherapy. This issue brings together first person narratives written by a group of eminent psychotherapists as well as an emp...

The ways in which the psychotherapy relationship may be affected by differences in culture has been the subject of considerable theorizing. However few empirical studies have explored differences in the therapist-client bond in individualistic cultures compared to more collectivistic ones (Kim et al., 2003; Cherbosque, 1987). This study investigate...

The primary aim of this article was to demonstrate the clinical utility of an empirically grounded perspective on the complex interplay between patients' attachment style and their ability to create, remember, and use benignly influential representations of their experiences with their therapists. We focused on 2 interrelated questions: Are there s...

In order lo assess the sources and extent of satisfaction, stress, and burnout in suburban teachers, a group of teachers (n = 365) was administered a 65-item Likert-type Teacher Attitude Survey (TAS). Satisfaction consisted of experiences that make teachers feel sensitive to and involved with students as well as colleagues; stresses were related to...

Although formal, assigned supervision is a potent source of learning and guidance for psychotherapy trainees, many beginning psychotherapists use other, informal sources of supervision or consultation for advice and support. Results of an online survey of beginning trainees (N = 146) indicate that other than their formally assigned supervisor, trai...

Social networking sites (SNS) like Facebook can increase interpersonal connections but also intensify jealousy, envy, and surveillance behaviors. Attachment styles may help explain differences in experiencing SNS. This study investigated the role of attachment in influencing emerging adults' perceptions and feelings about SNS and their disclosures...

Abstract This study investigated the perceptions of adult clients (N=98; M age=32) with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) of the costs and benefits of disclosure of this material. Significant benefits of disclosing included a sense of relief from sharing bottled-up emotions, and feeling more accepted and understood by one's therapist; signi...

Increasingly, young people are using various forms of technology in the service of communicating with others, and many have noted the possibility of various dire consequences of this phenomenon, including sexting, cyberbullying, online harassment, and Internet addiction. In our own survey of over 300 adolescents, we found that texting and face-to-f...

This brief article argues that narcissism, though seemingly ubiquitous in contemporary American society, is in fact a timeless phenomenon. Current manifestations and favored types of narcissism, especially grandiose and vulnerable presentations, are reviewed; it is argued that milder ("subclinical") versions of narcissistic phenomena, while frequen...

This study compared models of intimacy implicit in the narratives of young adults (mean age, 25 years) with secure (n = 13) and avoidant (n = 13) attachment styles. Participants completed an open-ended interview in which they described past and present adult love relationships. Content analysis revealed that although secure and avoidant individuals...

After 5 years of conceptualizing, investigating, and writing about corrective experiences (CEs), we (the authors of this chapter) met to talk about what we learned. In this chapter, we summarize our joint understanding of (a) the definition of CEs; (b) the contexts in which CEs occur; (c) client, therapist, and external factors that facilitate CEs;...

This study investigated patterns of disclosure by psychotherapy patients about their own therapy to confidants. A total of 135 patients (M age = 29.4; 18 male; 117 female) currently in individual psychotherapy completed the Disclosure About Therapy Inventory (DATI), a questionnaire of 90 Likert-type items designed to investigate patients' experienc...

This chapter reviews the research on the association between therapists' provision of positive regard and treatment outcome. Rogers' attempts to define the concept of positive regard are noted, and two examples of positive regard are presented. We conducted a new meta-analysis, focusing on eighteen studies, that yielded an aggregate effect of r = ....

This article reviews the research on the association between therapists' provision of positive regard and therapeutic outcome. Rogers' attempts to define the concept of positive regard are noted and two examples of positive regard are presented. A new meta-analysis, focusing on 18 studies, yielded an aggregate effect size of .27 (CI = .16, .38; p <...

Factors affecting the recall, forms, themes, and phenomenological properties of internalized representations of the psychotherapist and the psychotherapeutic relationship were investigated in a sample (n = 206) of both current and former patients. Subjects' responses on the Therapist Representation Inventory (TRI) indicated that representations of...

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between attachment style and patient disclosure in psychotherapy. A significant positive relationship was found between the security of adult psychotherapy patients' (N=117) attachment to their therapist and (a) their overall level of self-disclosure and (b) their level of positive f...

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the ways in which therapists-in-training construct and use mental representations of their relationships with their supervisors in the service of their own professional development. A total of 115 trainees (75% of whom were psychodynamically oriented) completed The Supervisory Representation Inventor...

In many ways, Carl Rogers was and continues to be a figure of contradictions. He was a dreamy idealist who was also a hard-headed pragmatist; a humanist grounded in positivism; a shy, somewhat stiff Midwesterner who ended up advocating openness, disclosure, and intimacy; a persuasive advocate for empathic and respectful listening raised in a judgme...

This article explores the potential benefits and risks of patient self-disclosure in the psychotherapy of adult women survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). Two primary questions frame this discussion: How are the primary benefits of patient disclosure influenced by CSA status, and what are the specific risks associated with each of these benef...

This study examined the effects of gender and gender role identification on 223 patients' experiences of self-disclosure in psychotherapy. Factor analysis of the Disclosure-to-Therapist Inventory-IV revealed two dimensions: a distress factor, reflecting the perceived difficulty and the anticipated impact of disclosures on the therapist, and an open...

Carl Rogers' 1957 paper (see record 2007-14639-002) is arguably the most successful of his many attempts to clarify and render testable the ideas behind client-centered therapy. While each of the conditions that Rogers postulated has been linked to positive therapeutic outcome, taken together they have never been conclusively proved (nor disproved)...

This study compared patterns of self-disclosure in psychotherapy and marriage. Participants (48 married, current psychotherapy patients, mean age = 42) completed a 101-item Disclosure to Therapist Inventory and a companion measure, a 101-item Disclosure to Spouse Inventory. Results indicated a pattern of greater disclosure to one's therapist in reg...

The primary aim of this study was to identify the temporal elements of patient self-disclosure in psychotherapy. Twenty-one patients in individual psychotherapy participated in a semistructured interview that explored issues related to the intrinsic decision-making process and the emotional experiences involved in disclosing intimate concerns and s...

This study compared 50 Latino and 50 White American students' perceptions of the severity of 25 psychological problems, their willingness to seek help for these problems, and their preferences for caregivers. Each group received a modified version of the Personal Problems Inventory. Latino students rated depression, financial concerns, and discrimi...

This study examined the relation between attachment constructs assessed by self-report and object relations constructs assessed from narratives. Young adult participants (N = 65; median age 28) completed the Reciprocal Attachment Questionnaire (West, Sheldon, &Reiffer, 1987), provided a set of interpersonal narratives rated using the Social Cogniti...

This article addresses the question "Why do people become psychotherapists?" via two approaches. The first involves an examination of the empirical and clinical literature on motivations and influences common to most psychotherapists. The second approach explores multiple pathways to becoming a psychotherapist by considering distinct gender-linked...

This article briefly considers the career determinants of mental health professionals and then introduces the contents of the Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session issue devoted to "why I became a psychotherapist." Psychotherapists are assuredly a special sort because the average person prefers to minimize the psychic sufferings of fellow huma...

The primary aim of this study was to investigate therapists' use of self-disclosure with their child patients. A sample of 126 mental health professionals with an average of 20 years of clinical experience completed the Therapist-to-Child Disclosure Inventory (TCDI), a 42-item Likert-type measure created for this study. Therapist self-disclosure wa...

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...

Disclosure in psychotherapy may be considered from multiple perspectives: therapist to patient, patient to therapist, trainee to supervisor, and supervisor to trainee. Individuals in each of these roles must decide if, when, and how they should articulate certain thoughts or feelings to their therapeutic counterpart. Multicultural considerations ma...