Therapist Perceptions of Client Memory for Psychological Treatment Contents and Use of Memory Support Strategies: A Survey Study of Clinical Practice

Client memory is often limited for psychological treatment contents, defined as the ideas, concepts, skills, and/or insights that the therapist thinks are important for the client to remember and implement as a part of therapy. Clients with worse memory for treatment contents also evidence worse treatment adherence and worse treatment outcomes. However, there is little information available regarding practicing therapists' perceptions of client memory for treatment contents. This study distributed an online survey to 170 practicing therapists. The aims were (a) to describe therapist perceptions of client memory for treatment contents and use of strategies to support client memory for treatment contents and (b) to explore whether these variables differed for therapists from different backgrounds and settings. Most participants reported observing clients struggle to remember ideas, concepts, and skills discussed during therapy sessions and considered client memory for treatment contents to be a relevant component of the treatment process. Psychodynamic therapists considered client memory for treatment contents to be less important than did cognitive-behavioral therapists. Although most participants reported deliberately using some strategies to support client memory for treatment contents, optimizing client memory for treatment likely requires more frequent use across a greater variety of memory support strategies. Results indicate that attempts to disseminate strategies to enhance client memory for treatment contents will receive a positive reception from practicing therapists.