Does it matter whether your therapist is similar to you?

By Emma Young How do you choose the best possible therapist for someone who needs help? Does it make any difference if the therapist is about the same age, for instance, or the same gender, or from the same socio-economic background?  It seems intuitive that it might be easier to relate to someone from a similar background. However, while a positive relationship between client and therapist is known to be one of the most important factors for a good treatment outcome, there’s been surprisingly little work on how their respective personal attributes might interact to create a successful alliance.   Now work led by Alex Behn, affiliated to both the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and the Millennium Institute for Research in Depression and Personality, in Santiago, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, attempts to help plug that gap.  The study involved 28 therapists and 547 adult clients, who had been referred to receive psychotherapy (of different types) for depression. Just over ten per cent had previously been hospitalised for psychiatric reasons and 90 per cent were taking psychiatric medication when they joined the study. All of the therapists had a degree in psychology, and they saw the clients in weekly individual sessions.  Before their first sessions, the clients and the therapists reported on their gender, age and average monthly family income. Based on these responses, they were classed as male/female; young adults (18-25), adults (aged 25-4...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Therapy Source Type: blogs