How epistemic trust, mistrust and credulity relate to mental health, personality pathology, treatment engagement and relationship in psychotherapeutic and psychiatric settings.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Epistemic trust describes the capacity to appropriately identify others as reliable and relevant sources of information, an ability closely linked to attachment and social learning. Epistemic disruption can manifest as heightened suspicion (mistrust) or excessive reliance (credulity) vis-à-vis others, affecting mentalizing abilities and increasing vulnerability to psychopathology and maladaptive traits. These interdependent and multidirectional dynamics are pivotal to therapeutic learning, and thus to therapeutic change.

Objective

This study examined associations between epistemic trust and disruption, markers of psychopathology, therapeutic relationship quality and treatment-seeking behaviour.

Method

A naturalistic sample of 912 participants, recruited via

SUBMITTER: Brocker AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12820883 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature