Videotaping Psychotherapy

¹ STDP Institute at St. Clares Riverside Medical Center, Denville, New Jersey.

Dr. Alpert, SC RMC, 50 Morris Avenue, Denville, NJ 07834.

The use of videotapes of psychotherapy sessions by patients, therapists, and supervisors is discussed. The review of videotape helps patients see themselves and their therapists more realistically. As patients become familiar with their behavior and expressions, they begin to see how behavior is linked to underlying feelings. Therapists similarly learn about their own behaviors and defenses as well as those of their patients through the review of tapes. Session videotapes provide supervisors with a much more accurate picture of patients and patient-therapist interactions. Although patients are usually amenable to the videotaping of sessions because of these benefits, therapists are often resistant to videotaping because it exposes their own shortcomings.