Abstract

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.