Attitudes about Psychotherapy

In order to qualitatively measure the influence of attachment style on attitudes toward psychotherapy, twelve (12) undergraduate students in introductory psychology classes were used as a sample size in a study conducted by six undergraduate students who were enrolled in an upper-level class on consensual qualitative research (CQR). Participants shared beliefs that, in psychotherapy, clients should be open, receptive, and motivated, therapists should listen, support, and advise the client, and the therapeutic relationship should be intimate. Through a series of interviews, the researchers found that participants who displayed an insecure attachment style were more skeptical of psychotherapy; these participants wanted a more professional client-therapist relationship, wanted the therapist to inquire more instead of disclosing personal information themselves, and thought of fewer therapeutic benefits in relation to their counterparts who displayed a secure attachment style. The study suggested that attitudes about psychotherapy need to be changed in order for the  therapy to have a greater impact.


Citation: Hill, C. E., Satterwhite, D. B., Larrimore, M. L., Mann, A. R., Johnson, V. C., Simon, R. E., Simpson, A. C., & Knox, S. (in preparation). Attitudes about psychotherapy: A qualitative study of introductory psychology students who have never been in psychotherapy and the influence of attachment style. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 1-12.