Gaps between expectations and perceived reality of therapists and clients

This study examines the gaps between role expectations and perceived reality of therapists and clients at two points in time in therapy: In the first and in subsequent sessions. Two subsamples were studied: 66 therapy sessions that were first meetings and 81 sessions at various points during the course of therapy (median = 9 months). Both therapists and clients in therapy dyads filled in the "expectation" and the "descriptions" parts of the Role Expectation and Preference Questionnaire. The main findings were that there was a consistent gap between expectations and perceived reality: Both therapists and clients expected behaviors to occur more than they perceived them to happen. In first sessions, the expectation-reality gap was larger for clients than for therapists. In subsequent sessions, however, the gaps became significantly smaller for clients, but remained almost the same for therapists.