Do Therapists Lie to Their Clients?

Curt and Katie chat about whether therapists are dishonest and whether they should be. We received a request from a listener to talk about the idea that therapists lie to their clients. We look at what types of lies are common, whether lying is expected or acceptable, what to do instead, and how to decide whether you will lie or not in session.
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In this podcast episode we talk through how, when, and why therapists lie
We received a listener email requesting a discussion on therapist dishonesty and the impact on the therapeutic relationship.
What types of lies might a therapist tell?
Whoppers (fraud)
Fibs (untruths that support the clinical work or the therapeutic relationship)
Omission (concealing facts that impact the client)
Deflections (bending the truth for therapeutic effect)
Denial (rejecting reality, with positive and negative results)
Is it good or bad for a therapist to lie?
Fraud is never okay, and is illegal and unethical
Fibs may be in the best interest of the client OR could be to protect the therapist (which is human, but not really okay)
Professionalism, exaggerating/minimizing emotional responses for therapeutic effect, and “social niceties” may be appropriate, but it is important to think about authenticity and whether it will negatively impact the client if they perceive the deception
If a client is asking for the therapist’s opinion of them, the context of the client’s treatment agreements and their needs, as well as the therapeutic relationship impact whether a therapists will be best served by honesty or deflecting or denying the truth
What can therapists do when they are tempted to lie to their clients?
Make the decision of whether to tell the truth based on the context of the relationship and treatment goals
Be more transparent with the client about therapist’s limitations, while also holding hope and accountability to address these limitations
Work collaboratively with the client to get to the information or treatment interventions that are needed, rather than working by and for yourself.
If you lie to your client and it backfires, work to make repairs (see our episode on “Should Therapists Admit Mistakes?)
Who we are:
Curt Widhalm, LMFT
www.curtwidhalm...
Katie Vernoy, LMFT
www.katievernoy...
A Quick Note:
Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves - except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it.
Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.