Patients’ experiences of being “ghosted” by their psychotherapists
Abstract
age = 34) who reported being ghosted by their therapist completed a web-based therapist ghosting survey (TGS) that assessed their perceptions of multiple aspects of this event. Results indicated that these patients, on average, unsuccessfully attempted to contact their therapist four times following being ghosted but that the great majority never again communicated with this therapist; they attributed being ghosted to several possibilities, including their therapist's finding them too difficult, their therapist's own problems, and/or a major event in their therapist's personal life. They experienced shock, frustration, anxiety, resentment, and sadness as a result of this action, emotions that tended to dissipate over time. Given its emotional toll on patients and the ethical violation inherent in the act of ghosting, further research on the prevalence, consequences, and therapists' motives for this behavior seems imperative. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Most ghostees (83.9%) did not reach out to their therapists for an explanation after being ghosted by them.
“With respect to therapist ghosting, some ghostees tried to reach out to their therapists for an explanation, but most (83.9%) did not, concluding either that they were somehow responsible (21.3%) or that something occurred in the therapist's personal life.”
From Ghosting: Abandonment in the Digital Era (2023) · cites this paper as [13]
Among ghostees who did not reach out to their therapists, 21.3% concluded they were somehow responsible.
“With respect to therapist ghosting, some ghostees tried to reach out to their therapists for an explanation, but most (83.9%) did not, concluding either that they were somehow responsible (21.3%) or that something occurred in the therapist's personal life.”
From Ghosting: Abandonment in the Digital Era (2023) · cites this paper as [13]
Approximately 16% of patients who were ghosted by their therapists managed to recontact their therapist.
“Approximately 16% of the patients in this study managed to recontact their therapist [13].”
From Ghosting: Abandonment in the Digital Era (2023) · cites this paper as [13]
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Ghosting: A Common but Unpopular Rejection Strategy
Freedman, G., & Powell, D. N. (2024) · Social and Personality Psychology Compass · doi:10.1111/spc3.70026 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
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What is (not) ghosting? A theoretical analysis via three key pillars
Schokkenbroek, J. M., Telari, A., Pancani, L., & Riva, P. (2025) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2025.108637 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Ghosting: Abandonment in the Digital Era
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Termination of psychotherapy: a systematic review
Rabinowitz, Y. L., Yim, B., & Muran, J. C. (2025) · Cogent Mental Health · doi:10.1080/28324765.2025.2535626 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“Patients often attribute ghosting to personal issues or their own behavior but believe their therapist is at fault, with emotions fading over time (Farber et al., 2022).”
Clients' negative experiences in psychological treatment.
Vybíral, Z., Řiháček, T., Borovička, P., & Ogles, B. (2025) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2025.102175 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
The Translation and Preliminary Psychometric Validation of the Ghosting Questionnaire in Urdu
Husain, W., Sadiqa, A., Zahid, E., Idrees, F., Ammar, A., Saif, Z., Trabelsi, K., Pandi-Perumal, S. R., Seeman, M. V., & Jahrami, H. (2024) · European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education · doi:10.3390/ejihpe14030037 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Recent research has revealed that individuals with “dark triad” traits, characterized by narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, are the most likely to avoid the awkward and emotionally draining conversations associated with ending a relationship [1,16,17].”
BackgroundHusain, W., Salem, A. A. M. S., Ammar, A., Trabelsi, K., Ghazzawi, H., Saif, Z., Helmy, M. S., Pandi-Perumal, S. R., Seeman, M. V., Pakpour, A. H., et al. (2024) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-024-02107-8 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“People falling into the category of the “dark triad,” narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, have been considered as the ones most likely to avoid unpleasant conversations and, thus, show an inclination to ghost [1, 15, 17].”
BackgroundÖZALP, M., Husain, W., Yaman, K. G., Ammar, A., Trabelsi, K., Pandi-Perumal, S. R., & Jahrami, H. (2025) · European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education · doi:10.3390/ejihpe15050071 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“…mobile flirting relationships (Konings et al., 2023; Timmermans et al., 2021), familial relationships (Campaioli et al., 2022; Thomas & Dubar, 2021), professional relationships (Campaioli et al., 2022; Daraj et al., 2023; Wood et al., 2023), or therapeutic relationships (Farber et al., 2022).”
Near and far: Representation of online psychotherapy in a group of clients
Cordella, B., Miano, A., & Pennella, A. (2023) · Rivista di Psicologia Clinica · doi:10.3280/rpc1-2023oa15698 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Counselling and VCP are in fact not exempt from ghosting, which can moreover be done not only by the client but also by the clinician (Farber et al. , 2022).”
BackgroundPatients' Experiences of Non‐Mutual Psychotherapy Termination: A Qualitative Content Analysis
Antichi, L., Notarnicola, S., Gori, A., & Giannini, M. (2025) · Counselling and Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1002/capr.70066 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Jahrami, H., Husain, W., Saif, Z., Ammar, A., & Trabelsi, K. (2026) · European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education · doi:10.3390/ejihpe16010015 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“…also been utilized for infiltrating friendships, familial ties, professional domains, and even therapeutic relationships (Astleitner et al., 2023; Farber et al., 2022; Forrai et al., 2023; Freedman et al., 2022; Konings et al., 2023; Pancani et al., 2021; Powell et al., 2022; Powell et al.,…”
InfluentialNatural environment and its psychological effects: Exploring individuals' narratives
Abate, R., & Rogier, G. (2023) · Rivista di Psicologia Clinica · doi:10.3280/rpc1-2023oa15851
Ghosting Questionnaire (GHOST): Development, Validation, and Cross-Cultural Adaptations
Jahrami, H., Husain, W., Saif, Z., et al. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-89738-3_77-1
Paschalidou, D., & Baourda, V. C. (2026) · Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies · doi:10.1080/14779757.2026.2650148
- Authors
- Farber, B. A., Hubbard, E., & Ort, D.
- Affiliations
- Columbia University (US)
- Venue
- Psychotherapy
- Published
- 2022-12
- Volume
- 59
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 545-553
- ISSN
- 0033-3204 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1536
- OpenAlex
- W4289845547
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4
- FWCI
- 2.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychotherapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Counseling Practices and Supervision
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- patient experience, patient-therapist communication, emotional impact, ethical violations
- MeSH terms
- Psychotherapists, Adult, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders, Humans, Professional-Patient Relations, Psychotherapy
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