Are we on the same page? An examination of therapist and client estimation of each other’s session quality rating using truth and bias model.

The aim of this study was to investigate the development of synchrony between Chinese beginning therapist trainees and their clients regarding their perceptions of the quality of therapy sessions, and the moderating factors (time in treatment and therapist presence) that impacted the development of synchrony. The study focused on 211 beginning therapist trainees and their 1,216 clients over 6,888 sessions conducted in total. The data gathered from these sessions were analyzed using truth and bias model. Results indicated that, first, Chinese therapist trainees showed a general tendency to underestimate their clients' session quality rating, which became less pronounced as therapy progressed. Second, therapist and client estimation of each other's session quality rating was influenced by both their own perception (i.e., bias) as well as the actual perception of the other party (i.e., truth), with the former having a larger effect than the latter. Third, for both therapist and client, longer time in treatment reduced the "clouding" effect of one's own bias but did not increase one's receptivity to the other's experiences. However, higher level of therapist presence strengthened the effect of client actual perception (truth) on therapist judgment. Implications on the formation and development of therapist-client perceptual synchrony and recommendations for therapists and trainers were discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).