It was my therapist's fault: Patients’ perception of treatment failures as a result of adverse therapeutic behaviors and impaired learning experiences

A considerable proportion of patients discontinue treatment prematurely or are dissatisfied with it. Adverse therapeutic behaviors hinder the acquisition and use of learning experiences and contribute to the failure of psychotherapy from the patient's point of view. The current study investigates which specific adverse therapist behaviors are decisive for the failure of therapy from the patients’ perspective. Furthermore, patients' learning experiences in relation to treatment failure and adverse therapeutic behaviors are examined. As part of a cross-sectional online study, persons who were undergoing a psychotherapy within the last 2 years and perceived it as a failure are asked about their experiences during treatment. They rate their therapist's behavior (e.g., rigidity, passivity, empathy) and report about subjective learning experiences they acquired within therapy. In addition, participants’ acquisition, and use of ideal-typical strategies in dealing with their problems are assessed.