The Components of Cultural Match in Psychotherapy

Abstract

Pairing ethnic minority clients seeking mental health treatment with therapists that share the same ethnic background has been demonstrated to increase treatment utilization and lower rates of drop out. Considerably less research has explored the active ingredient in ethnic match and what about it is causing these changes. this study proposes that ethnic match is actually a proxy for cultural match, in which clients and therapists from a shared cultural background share similar attitudes, values, and cultural beliefs about different mental health topics. this assumed shared belief can influence session content which then serves as a moderator for treatment utilization. in a sample of 4,924 clients seen at a university counseling center, ethnic match significantly increased treatment stays for ethnic minority patients. it also reduced one-session attrition rates. hierarchical logistic regressions revealed that the odds of certain issues being discussed in therapy changed depending on the presence of an ethnic match and that these patterns were not consistent across ethnic groups. African American clients were significantly more likely to discuss substance use when paired with an ethnically matched therapist, but Asian American clients were significantly less likely to do so. latino/a clients were more likely to discuss sexual identity when ethnically matched. A moderation analysis also examined which issues were associated with longer treatment stays. For Asian Americans, the issues associated with increased utilization were sexual identity and academic concerns. in latino/as these issues were sexual identity, drug use, sexual abuse, racism, and academic problems.

Implementing an intervention to address challenging behaviors for autism spectrum disorder in publicly-funded mental health services: Therapist and parent perceptions of delivery with Latinx families.

“…Some studies show that provider-client matching by native language and ethnicity is linked to a higher likelihood of clients staying in and being satisfied with treatment (Campbell & Alexander, 2002; Sue, 1998). Though consumers may prefer a therapist of their same ethnic or cultural background (Cabral & Smith, 2011), the culturally sensitive strategy of matching by ethnicity (Ibaraki & Hall, 2014) is not always feasible in community mental health services, which highlights the need for all providers to approach therapeutic interactions from a perspective of cultural humility.…”

Counseling services for Asian, Latino/a, and White American students: Initial severity, session attendance, and outcome.

“…Clients who attended only a single session of counseling were considered as one-session attrition (Ibaraki & Hall, 2014). …”

Matching Patient and Therapist Anaclitic–Introjective Personality Configurations Matters for Psychotherapy Outcomes

“…Most studies of patient–therapist match try to demonstrate that similar sex, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or more generally, a shared cultural background with similar attitudes, values, and believes influence the early therapeutic relationship, session content, continuation rates, treatment satisfaction, and outcomes (e.g., Cabral and Smith 2011 ; Ibaraki and Hall 2014 ; Reis and Brown 1999 ). However, contrasting convergent and complementary patient–therapist match might be too simplistic.…”