Humans are beautifully messy and complicated. Even when paying for their help, we don’t always share complete details with a therapist. Sometimes that’s intentional, and sometimes it comes from subconscious motives.
As a longtime eating and body-image specialist, I’ve repeatedly had the privilege of listening to people talk about their reasons for not being truthful or open about eating and body-image topics in therapy. Decades ago, I did that myself—even though my food and body battles were daily downers and frustrations that could have used help. Nonetheless, I kept them from my own therapist for years.
Researchers Jacqueline Patmore and Barry Farber addressed this seemingly counterproductive phenomenon in their new study, “The Nature and Effects of Psychotherapy Clients’ Nondisclosure of Eating and Body Image Concerns.” Their team of researchers coded and analyzed responses from 45 participants who experienced eating or body image issues but lied about or concealed those difficulties during therapy. And we’re not talking about a couple of sessions. The median time in treatment was reportedly over a year. At an average of three meetings a month, that’s more than 36 sessions. (Click for full article)
