Client Expectations Are Important...

The latest article in the October Clinical Psychology Review by Roger Greenberg and pals -- Are patient expectations still relevant for psychotherapy process and outcome -- is worth your time.

Client expectations are indeed a huge and oft-overlooked factor. While many academics are jousting their various theories against one another in clinical trials and nearly always finding no difference between various theoretical orientations in their ability to induce symptom reduction, client expectations are at work across therapies of all types. A thoughtful piece that clinicians and academics should check out.

Abstract provided below with a link if you'd rather go to the publisher's site:

"Patient expectations have been regarded as a variable affecting the course of psychotherapy for more than 50 years. Yet, even though expectations are often considered a factor common to most psychotherapy systems, their importance may be undervalued. This paper places the expectancy issue in a historical context, discusses the varied definitions of expectancy, and reviews the extant expectancy research literature. Discussion of results affirms the continuing relevance of patient expectations, suggests that they may be even more vital to the psychotherapy process than is often acknowledged, highlights research strengths and weaknesses, and calls attention to areas on which clinicians and researchers might focus to improve treatment effectiveness."

Link to the abstract.