The effects of therapist breathing style on subject's inhalation volumes.

This study explored how the clinicians'/experimenters' breath patterns affected subjects' inhalation volume. 20 volunteer subjects inhaled 20 sequential breaths (10 normal and 10 paced) with their eyes closed. During the paced exhalation, the experimenter audibly exhaled in phase with the subjects' exhalation. The subjects's inhalation volumes significantly increased during the paced as compared to the initial normal breathing phase, F(1,19) = 8.82, p < .01, repeated measures ANOVA. These findings confirm that the clinician's breathing style directly affects the client's breath pattern.