Psychotherapists less biased than assumed

In Flückiger's study, two experiments were conducted in which a total of 120 psychotherapists took part. They described their first clinical impressions in two consecutive patient cases under different attention conditions. The therapists had to adopt either a symptom-focused or a strength-focused attentional focus in order to remember the cases.

In both experiments, the therapists rated the patients in the symptom-focused conditions as slightly more distressed, less resilient and less psychosocially integrated than in the strength-focused conditions. Although these effects were statistically significant, they remained small to clinically negligible. The results suggest that the first clinical impressions of current psychotherapists in both experiments may be slightly distorted, but not as dramatically as the Rosenhan experiment suggested.

Fifty years ago, the Rosenhan experiment was one of the most influential psychological studies. It came to the conclusion that clinicians could be negatively biased by the clinical context in their first diagnostic impression, i.e. classify their patients as drastically sicker than they actually are. This has a negative impact on further decisions. However, the current study by the University of Kassel disproves that psychotherapists today perceive patients to be sicker than they actually are. "This argument, which is still heard quite often in general discussions, has thus been refuted in its dramatic strength," emphasizes Flückiger. Nevertheless, the results surprise him, because "therapists are nonetheless influenceable in their clinical judgment, even if this trend of influenceability was not particularly strong."

The results are particularly relevant for practitioners, as they show that diagnoses can be influenced. "The results underline the importance of careful and balanced diagnostics that take into account both stress and the patient's abilities," says Flückiger. This provides valuable impetus for the training and practice of professionals working with patients with mental disorders by emphasizing the importance of a balanced professional diagnostic focus.

Further information:

Study: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2025-48818-001.html

Press contact:

Sebastian Mense
University of Kassel
Communication and Marketing
Phone: +49 561 804-1961
E-mail: presse[at]uni-kassel[dot]de
www.uni-kassel.de