2023 - Full Presentation Schedule
How Do I Find a Therapist That's Right for Me? Exploring the Factors that Influence Therapist Selection
Start Date
31-3-2023 3:15 PM
End Date
31-3-2023 3:30 PM
Location
CASB 105 - Psychology
Document Type
Presentation
Abstract
Today, many individuals are searching for healthcare providers through online websites and even receiving health services through virtual meetings and telemedicine programs. The recent pandemic has only pushed the health services further in this direction.
This is especially evident for mental health services with people now capable of largely having a virtual relationship with their providers through programs such as telepsychiatry. Previous research has largely focused on the factors that impact how individuals select general health providers (Lipscomb et al. 2010).
For example, how individuals select a new family medicine physician may depend on several factors such as the physician’s race and gender (Bornstein et al., 2000), availability of physicians’ biographies on websites (Perrault, 2016), and formality of the physician’s language or bedside manners (Perrault et al., 2022). Alegria et al. (2008) notes that most clients seeking mental health treatment make their choice based on physician recommendations, their health plan's network, and geographic considerations.
To date, much of the research concerning therapist selection has relied on non-experimental approaches. For example, Lipscomb et al. (2010) asked participants to rate the importance of the 29 characteristics (e.g., logical, friendly, honest, trustworthy, cultural/ethnic background, same gender, doctoral degree, age, supportive, etc.) that they deemed important for therapists to possess.
Results indicated that participants rated credentials as the single most important factor when selecting a therapist. While this study and previous studies provide insight on how potential clients select therapists, it is unclear whether differences in therapist selection is caused by internal attributes (e.g., gender and race) given that these studies rely on non-experimental methodologies. In the current study, we experimentally manipulated therapist attributes and examined its impact on decision-making.
The credentials of the provider and website details were manipulated to create a 2(therapist credentials: master’s degree, doctorate degree) x 2(biography details: personal, generic) factorial design. Participants were randomly exposed to one of four fictitious webpages highlighting a therapist’s private practice. After viewing the webpage, participants were asked to rate their confidence in the therapist’s clinical skills, the likelihood of connecting with the therapist, and the likelihood of choosing the therapist to seek treatment.
Findings indicated that participants were more confident in therapists who displayed generic details on their webpage. However, participant’s race influenced this effect, with White participants being more selective than BIPOC participants. The implications of these findings will be discussed.
How Do I Find a Therapist That's Right for Me? Exploring the Factors that Influence Therapist Selection
CASB 105 - Psychology
Today, many individuals are searching for healthcare providers through online websites and even receiving health services through virtual meetings and telemedicine programs. The recent pandemic has only pushed the health services further in this direction.
This is especially evident for mental health services with people now capable of largely having a virtual relationship with their providers through programs such as telepsychiatry. Previous research has largely focused on the factors that impact how individuals select general health providers (Lipscomb et al. 2010).
For example, how individuals select a new family medicine physician may depend on several factors such as the physician’s race and gender (Bornstein et al., 2000), availability of physicians’ biographies on websites (Perrault, 2016), and formality of the physician’s language or bedside manners (Perrault et al., 2022). Alegria et al. (2008) notes that most clients seeking mental health treatment make their choice based on physician recommendations, their health plan's network, and geographic considerations.
To date, much of the research concerning therapist selection has relied on non-experimental approaches. For example, Lipscomb et al. (2010) asked participants to rate the importance of the 29 characteristics (e.g., logical, friendly, honest, trustworthy, cultural/ethnic background, same gender, doctoral degree, age, supportive, etc.) that they deemed important for therapists to possess.
Results indicated that participants rated credentials as the single most important factor when selecting a therapist. While this study and previous studies provide insight on how potential clients select therapists, it is unclear whether differences in therapist selection is caused by internal attributes (e.g., gender and race) given that these studies rely on non-experimental methodologies. In the current study, we experimentally manipulated therapist attributes and examined its impact on decision-making.
The credentials of the provider and website details were manipulated to create a 2(therapist credentials: master’s degree, doctorate degree) x 2(biography details: personal, generic) factorial design. Participants were randomly exposed to one of four fictitious webpages highlighting a therapist’s private practice. After viewing the webpage, participants were asked to rate their confidence in the therapist’s clinical skills, the likelihood of connecting with the therapist, and the likelihood of choosing the therapist to seek treatment.
Findings indicated that participants were more confident in therapists who displayed generic details on their webpage. However, participant’s race influenced this effect, with White participants being more selective than BIPOC participants. The implications of these findings will be discussed.