A comparison of therapist and client social class.

Abstract

A number of studies suggest that therapist-client similarity is an important factor in client continuation in therapy and outcome (Carson & Heine, 1962;Heine & Trosman, 1960;Overall & Aaronson, 1963).Of particular interest is the series of studies by Carson (1967), McNair, Callahan, and Lorr (1962), and Whitehorn and Betz (1960 which tend to indicate that positive client outcome is related to therapist-client social class similarity. The existence of this relationship has been implied but not tested directly since therapist social class variability has not been examined. For example, McNair, Callahan, and Lorr (1962) speculated that the success of the "B" therapists with outpatients might have been related to the fact that the majority of their patients were from the lower or lowermiddle class and that "B" therapists generally are characterized by interests in skilled labor and technical activities.Studies dealing more directly with lower class clients' behavior in psychotherapy indicate that although such client dropout rate is usually excessively high, special training which enables therapists to behave in ways similar to the expecta-

The relationship between therapist and client social class and participation in psychotherapy.

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This study replicates Mitchell and Namenek's (1970) study in which therapists' estimates of their typical clients' social class were significantly related to the therapist's own discipline and self-ascribed socioeconomic background. The relationship between the therapist's discipline and socioeconomic background was also significant.

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“…Since the present findings were not consistent with those of Mitchell and Namenek (1970), we decided to compare the therapists' social-class distribution, which was based on self-report (Study 1), with the distribution, which was based on an independent determination (Study 2). We found that the two distributions were not significantly different for all therapists, x z (2l) = 2.00, for the clinical psychologists, x 2 (2) = .857, or for the psychiatrists, X 2 (2) = 1.12.…”

“…Therapists who contributed data to the present study included some of the 97 therapists from the earlier Mitchell and Namenek (1970) study as well as additional, therapists who joined the outcome study during the intervening 2 years. The additional therapists were selected in exactly the same way and met the same criteria as the earlier therapists.…”

“…In an earlier study of experienced psychotherapists, Mitchell and Namenek, 1970, found a significant relationship between therapists' reported paternal social-class background and the present social class of their typical client. Lower-class therapists (Classes IV and V; Hollingshead & Redlich, 1958) reported that their typical case load had significantly more lower-class and significantly fewer upper-class clients than did middle-(Class III) and upper-class therapists (Classes I and II).…”

The effect of client choice of therapist on therapy outcome

“…An interesting study by Mitchell and Namenek (1970) When therapists in private practice were considered, there was no difference in SES background between psychologists and psychiatrists and yet psychiatrists saw more upper class patients and psychologists more lower class patients.…”