Women’s preference of therapist based on sex of therapist and presenting problem: An analog study

Abstract

An analog study was conducted to examine differences in women’s preference for and anticipated comfort self-disclosing to hypothetical therapists of different sexes based on the type of hypothetical presenting problem. The impact of general level of self-disclosure was also examined. Participants included female college students (n = 187). Anticipated comfort self-disclosing to male or female therapist was rated by subjects when presented with therapists of each sex with the same qualifications. Women preferred and reported higher levels of anticipated comfort self-disclosing to a female therapist. The type of hypothetical presenting problem and general level of self-disclosure also impacted anticipated comfort self-disclosing. There was an interaction between general level self-disclosure and the sex of therapist on anticipated comfort self-disclosing. General level of self-disclosure only impacted anticipated comfort self-disclosing when the therapist was male. This information is relevant for therapists or organizations that provide psychosocial services to women. Organizations may want to inquire about a client’s preferences about sex of therapist beforehand and, if possible, cater to the client’s preference.

Keywords:

• client preference
• sex of therapist
• therapist characteristics
• women
• self-disclosure

Acknowledgements

This research is based on results from the master’s thesis of Sara J. Landes and was conducted at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. This research was funded by a Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Research Grant for Graduate Students. Preparation of this paper was supported in part by NIMH Grant No. 1F32MH084788-01A1 awarded to the first author. We would like to thank Krista Miller for her help in data collection for this project.

Notes

1. The term “sex” refers to the physiological or physical aspects of being either male or female. The term “gender” is defined as “the non-physiological aspects of being female or male-the cultural expectations for masculinity and femininity” (Lips, 2003, p. G-3). While it is noted that there is a difference between these terms, in a majority of the literature, the terms are used incorrectly, interchangeably, or without being defined. In reviewing the existing literature, we use terms as used by the authors of each article. For the purposes of this study, we use the term sex to describe the physical sex of therapists and to define types of presenting problems. Limitations of this choice are discussed in the Discussion.