Changes in preferences for male and female counselors

Client Preference for Counselor Gender

This article presents the results of an investigation of male and female clients' expressed preferences for gender of their counselor. The study addressed two major comparisons: clients with a preference for therapist gender versus those without a preference, and clients with a preference for a male therapist versus those with a preference for a female therapist. LOGIT analyses indicate significant relationships among sex of the client, sex of the intake counselor, whether or not clients express a preference, and whether they express a preference for a male or female counselor. Results also suggest an influence of the sex of the intake counselor. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for counseling and research activities.

Ethnic specificity in the relative minority use and staffing of community mental health centers

One of the mechanisms proposed for remedying underuse of community mental health centers by ethnic minorities is the increased employment of these minorities on community mental health center staff. The relative use and staffing rates by minorities were examined separately for four minorities: blacks, Spanish Americans, Asian Americans, and American Indians. There were statistically reliable moderate relationships between relative use and staffing rates for particular minorities, but somewhat lower relationships between relative use by one minority and staffing by other minorities. No general pattern was found for all minorities either for a different relationship between utilization and staffing for males and females or for a sex specificity; rather, different patterns appear for different minorities. Service-area demography appears to have no consistent effect on these relationships.