Changing for Real, Not Just for Pretend: A Proposed Framework for Understanding and Therapeutically Promoting Self-Honesty

Abstract

Self-deception—i.e., intentionally avoiding or distorting one’s awareness of reality—has received ample theoretical and empirical attention, whereas the field does not have so much as a term to describe the opposite practice: that of self-honesty—i.e., intentionally pursuing and maintaining one’s awareness of reality. Yet, as argued elsewhere (e.g., Gorlin & Schuur, 2019), this practice may be among the most crucial psychological concomitants of human agency and therapeutic change. Drawing on theory and research from across several disciplines concerned with motivated cognition, self-regulation, and psychotherapy, I propose a novel framework for understanding and promoting self-honesty as an explicit therapeutic target. I describe and illustrate a set of clinical recommendations arising from this framework, and summarize preliminary pilot results suggesting its feasibility and utility as an adjunct to exposure-based therapy for anxiety disorders. I then review points of convergence with a range of well-established therapeutic approaches, while also noting ways in which the proposed self-honesty framework extends or deviates from these approaches. Pending further empirical validation, this framework holds promise for increasing the reach and effectiveness of existing therapeutic approaches by inspiring and empowering clients to be more honest with themselves.