Client concealment and self-presentation in therapy: Comment on Kelly (2000)

The authors disagree with A. E. Kelly's (2000) conclusions that clients conceal things from therapists primarily for self-presentational reasons and that client concealment is positively related to positive therapy process and outcome. They also disagree with A. E. Kelly regarding the implications of self-presentation theory for therapy. Their review of the research suggests that clients do not conceal much from therapists, that what they do conceal involves many different kinds of information hidden for many different reasons, that therapists have wide variability in being able to detect hidden client material, and that the relationship of client concealment and therapist awareness of client concealment with therapy process and outcome is not clear. Finally, the authors discuss their views about implications of client concealment and self-presentation for therapy.