Counselors’ Tears: Relationships Between Counselor Characteristics and Crying in Session With Clients

Abstract

This study examined whether mental health counselors’ and therapists’ (N = 526) personal and professional characteristics predicted crying in the clinical context. Participants completed an online survey measuring general crying tendency and attitudes, empathy, self-monitoring, and attitudes and experiences regarding having cried in therapy with a client. Most participants (77%) indicated having previously cried in therapy with a client, with bivariate correlations revealing that age, clinical experience, and general crying tendency were most meaningfully related to variables for therapist crying in therapy. Several personality factors tested were also found to be significant predictors of therapist crying in therapy, although correlations were small. Strengths, limitations, and implications of the research for mental health counseling are discussed, including the need for counselor educators and supervisors to normalize occurrences of shedding tears in session with clients so that their trainees are better equipped to navigate their tears, if or when they arise.