Perceiving Therapeutic Communication: Client-Therapist Discrepancies.

IMPORTANCE: Few studies have examined differences in clients' and therapists' perspectives on therapeutic communication; this article contributes to the knowledge base. OBJECTIVE: To examine clients' and therapists' real-time perceptions of therapeutic communication. DESIGN: Observational, quantitative, cross-sectional study. SETTING: Inpatient and outpatient units of a large urban teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Clients (n = 110) and rehabilitation therapists (n = 38; occupational, physical, and speech). OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Demographic characteristics, Clinical Assessment of Modes (CAM). RESULTS: Clients perceived that therapists communicated by instructing more, and therapists reported empathizing more. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The findings suggest that clients and therapists may perceive therapeutic communication differently. What This Article Adds: This article supports therapists' use of the CAM to examine multiple perspectives on their communication mode use, as described in the Intentional Relationship Model.