The effect of psychologists’ disclosure of personal religious background on prospective clients

Abstract

How would prospective clients be influenced by information presented by a psychologist at the outset of therapy regarding the psychologists’ personal religious background? The current study examined this question via five written vignettes in which hypothetical psychologists described themselves in terms of a variety of variables. The five vignettes varied only in the religious affiliation of the psychologist: atheist, Christian, Jewish, Islamic, and no mention of religion. Regarding the self-reported likelihood that participants would see the psychologist, significant differences emerged between various therapist religious affiliations, especially for participants high in religiosity. Overall, results suggest that personal religious background disclosed by a psychologist at the outset of therapy may have a significant effect on the likelihood that a prospective client would choose to see the psychologist. Specifically, participants reported that they were more likely to see psychologists who described themselves as having an affiliation to a major religion than a psychologist described as atheist. This finding was especially true for participants who rated themselves high in religiosity. Clinical implications of these results are discussed.