| Abstract: | Abstract The current study assessed how previous experience with therapy impacted college students' perception of a clinician displaying symptoms of burnout. One hundred forty-seven undergraduate students viewed a videotaped therapy vignette depicting segments of three consecutive psychotherapy sessions. The therapist displayed symptoms of burnout (e.g., fatigue, clock watching) in one of the sessions. Participants rated the therapist on the following variables: liking, competence, level of concern, dedication to the field, and whether the client should continue to be treated by that therapist. As predicted, participants who indicated that they had been in therapy in the past rated the therapist significantly lower on four of these dimensions compared with subjects who had no prior experience in therapy. The results suggest that students who have previously been in therapy are more critical of a fatigued and distracted therapist. |
