Client Expectations About Couple Therapy

Keywords

couple therapy, client expectations, couples

Abstract

Little is known about the role of expectations in couple therapy. This manuscript provides the results of a qualitative inquiry into client expectations about couple therapy. Participants were 26 individuals representing 13 couples in couple therapy. Participants participated in semi-structured interviews four times: before the first, and after the second, third, and fourth sessions of therapy. Results of a discovery-focused qualitative content analysis of interview data suggested that participants formed pre-therapy expectations about their therapist, the therapy process, and the outcome of therapy. Expectations were generally stable over time, with most participants experiencing the confirmation of their expectations.

Original Publication Citation

Tambling, R. B., & Johnson, L. N. (2010). Client expectations about couple therapy. American Journal of Family Therapy, 38, 322-333. (DOI) 10.1080/01926187.2010.493465

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2010-07-07

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5346

Publisher

The American Journal of Family Therapy

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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