Psychotherapy outcomes with Latinx clients attending Hispanic-serving institutions and predominantly White institutions.

Abstract

In the present study, we used a large, national data set to examine psychotherapy outcomes from 9,515 Latinx clients seeking treatment in 71 college or university counseling centers in the United States, 13 of which were in Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) and 58 in predominantly White institutions (PWIs). We examined the hypothesis that Latinx clients in HSIs, compared to Latinx clients in PWIs, would experience greater relief in symptoms of depression, generalized anxiety, and academic distress over the course of psychotherapy. Results of multilevel modeling offered partial support for our hypothesis. Compared to their counterparts in PWIs, Latinx clients in HSIs were found to experience significantly greater relief in academic distress over the course of psychotherapy, but there were no significant differences between Latinx clients in HSIs and PWIs in terms of changes in depression or generalized anxiety over time. We offer recommendations for future research and discuss the practical implications of these findings. Public Significance StatementLatinx college students seeking therapy in university and college counseling centers (UCCs) in Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) had greater relief in symptoms of academic distress over the course of therapy than Latinx students in predominantly White institutions (PWIs). There were no differences between Latinx students in HSIs and PWIs regarding relief from depression or generalized anxiety over the course of therapy. Therapists, UCC directors, and administrators should consider the campus or institutional context that could influence therapy outcomes with Latinx college students.

Inaugural editorial for Journal of Counseling Psychology.

“…As a journal, we have robust research on many canonical concepts and practices in our field. Areas such as career and vocational theory (Navarro et al, 2019), cultural humility (Hook et al, 2016), microaggressions (Lee et al, 2023), group therapy (Arnold et al, 2022), attachment theory and its applications (Wang et al, 2022), measurement development (Langrehr et al, 2021), and psychotherapy process and outcomes (Pérez-Rojas et al, 2023), to name a few, have been central to the success of the journal. These areas of inquiry will continue to be central to the journal.…”