A psychotherapy researcher's perspective on therapist self-awareness and self-focused attention after a decade of research

Abstract

In this Early Career Award paper, the interplay between quantitative and qualitative approaches to self-awareness in the psychotherapy literature is described. In addition, the linkages between therapist self-awareness and self-focused attention discussed in the cognitive and social psychology literatures are also addressed. Contradictory sets of findings are examined; for example, momentary states of therapist self-awareness have at times been associated with anxiety or poor performance and at other times with positive interpersonal processes and client perceptions. Some of the studies on the management of distracting self-awareness are also reviewed, and suggestions for future research in the areas of mindfulness, attentional flexibility, and the person of the therapist are provided.