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.
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