Perceiving Therapeutic Communication: Client-Therapist Discrepancies
Abstract
Importance: Few studies have examined differences in clients’ and therapists’ perspectives on therapeutic communication; this article contributes to the knowledge base. Objective: To examine clients’ and therapists’ real-time perceptions of therapeutic communication. Design: Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional study. Setting: Inpatient and outpatient units of a large urban teaching hospital. Participants: Clients (n = 110) and rehabilitation therapists (n = 38; occupational, physical, and speech). Outcomes and Measures: Demographic characteristics, Clinical Assessment of Modes (CAM). Results: Clients perceived that therapists communicated by instructing more, and therapists reported empathizing more. Conclusions and Relevance: The findings suggest that clients and therapists may perceive therapeutic communication differently. What This Article Adds: This article supports therapists’ use of the CAM to examine multiple perspectives on their communication mode use, as described in the Intentional Relationship Model.