Whose psychotherapy is it?

What is it about?

What do laypeople prefer in psychotherapy, and do mental health professionals want the same in their own therapy? Our results demonstrate huge variations in therapy preferences but that in general laypersons prefer more direction and less emotional intensity than their psychotherapists. Mental health professionals should consider assessing their patients’ activity preferences, accommodating them when clinically and ethically feasible, and guarding against projecting their own desires onto their patients. Future practice and research will increasingly ask whose preferences prevail and under which circumstances should therapists’ preferences supersede those of their patients.

Featured Image