Third-Party Observation in Psychotherapy: Playing to the Audience

What is it about?

When trainees or instructors conduct psychotherapy sessions that are to be observed by third parties, their behavior, and that of their patients, skews to some extent to play to their audience. While observed psychotherapies are ordinarily of great benefit for therapists, patients and observers, clinicians are obligated to ascertain the types and influence of skews and mitigate those which may be harmful to patients and therapists. This article describes skews, their causes, and mitigation strategies.

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