Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Jeffrey Berman

Committee Member

J. Gayle Beck

Committee Member

Philip Pavlik

Abstract

Racial and ethnic minority groups may face barriers when pursuing psychotherapy, and racial/ethnic matching has been proposed as one solution to meet the needs of these clients. Some research suggests that African Americans hold the strongest preference for a same-race therapist, but this preference is not observed in other studies. This study investigated the potential role of therapist race on perceptions of therapists, including the likelihood of wanting to work with the therapist which served as the proxy for matching preferences. Analysis indicated that on all measures, Black therapists were rated more positively by both Black and White participants. However, for some perceptions of the therapist, this preference for Black therapists was stronger among Black participants than White participants. These findings suggest that, at least for a college-age sample, Black therapists appear to be preferred and viewed more positively among a wider population rather than being limited to African Americans.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest

Notes

Open Access

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