The effect of client choice of therapist on therapy outcome

This study compared the therapeutic progress of three randomly assigned groups (n = 14 in each group) of community mental health center clients: (a) clients who viewed a slide/sound presentation about all available therapists and chose their own therapist; (b) clients who viewed the presentation and were assigned to a therapist by the center's clinical director; (c) clients who were assigned to a therapist by the clinical director without seeing the presentation. There were no significant differences among the three groups in their initial reaction to the clinic, number of therapy sessions, type of termination, severity of presenting problems, General Well-Being Schedule scores, Current Adjustment Rating Scale scores, or therapist's satisfaction with therapy. Further analysis revealed that three out of four clients had improved significantly as a result of therapy. It was concluded that in the absence of research evidence demonstrating the efficacy of client choice on therapy outcome, support for the notion of client choice must be based solely on social, ethical, and legal considerations.