Recording therapy sessions: What do clients and therapists really think?

Moller, Naomi; Brown, Ellie; Moller, Naomi P.; Ramsey-Wade, Christine

Abstract

Aims: Recording therapy sessions has become part of routine practice amongst trainee psychotherapists. To date most research has focused on the benefits of recording sessions to support clinical supervision. There are few data about the benefits or risks for clients. This study aimed to explore the views of clients who had had their therapy sessions recorded and therapists who had recorded sessions. Design: Five clients and 25 therapists completed a qualitative survey, the results of which were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: All clients and several therapists reported that the recording devices are soon forgotten. Both therapists and clients reported the benefits of recording as being purely for the therapist with none identified for clients. Conclusions: It was observed that clients perhaps did not always understand how recordings were used, suggesting the need for clearer practice guidance. © 2013 British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2013
• Deposit Date: Feb 21, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 15, 2016
• Journal: Counselling and Psychotherapy Research
• Print ISSN: 1473-3145
• Electronic ISSN: 1746-1405
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 254-262
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14733145.2013.768286
• Keywords: recording, therapy, counselling, thematic analysis
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/934820
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14733145.2013.768286
• Contract Date: Nov 15, 2016