Therapist intrapersonal factors and rupture repair: Professional self-doubt, self-compassion, and repair strategies in a simulated cultural rupture task

OBJECTIVE: Ruptures are consequential moments in psychotherapy requiring therapists to remain engaged and responsive. Cultural ruptures may be especially challenging for trainee therapists. This study examined whether professional self-doubt (PSD) and self-compassion (SC) were associated with trainee therapists' use of repair strategies in response to video-simulated cultural rupture vignettes. METHOD: Graduate-level trainees (N = 88) responded to cultural rupture video stimuli. Responses were coded using the Rupture Resolution Rating System (3RS) to assess different types of repair. Multilevel models examined associations between therapist-level characteristics and repair strategy use across vignette responses. Time in training was included as a moderator. RESULTS: Main effects showed higher levels of PSD were associated with lower use of exploration and acknowledgment repair strategies. SC was not significantly associated with repair strategy use. Time in training was positively associated with utilization of all repair strategies. No significant interaction effects were found. CONCLUSION: Trainees reporting higher PSD may be less likely to engage in exploration or acknowledgment repair during cultural ruptures, and training level may lead to greater utilization of repair strategies generally. These findings highlight PSD as a potential target for training and research on therapist responsiveness in cultural rupture contexts.