(PS7-59) Personalized Therapy: How Previous Experiences Influence Client's Ideal Therapist

Intro: The therapeutic alliance is a key factor influencing psychotherapy outcomes. The preferences of the client may impact the alliance between client and clinician, thereby impacting the clients’ outcomes. Therapeutic history (i.e., number of sessions), may affect client preferences for future therapy, including the personality of the therapist. Personality traits, particularly those outlined in the Big Five (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion, openness, conscientious, and agreeableness), have been examined to understand how personality traits of the clinician and/or the client can influence the therapeutic alliance. This study aims to examine whether the therapy history of clients, specifically the number of sessions a participant has experienced, predicts the clients’ preferences for a future therapist.

Methods: A sample of adult participants (n = 98 were administered the NEO-PI-3 to examine client personality traits and personality traits for an ideal therapist. The desirability and importance of therapist traits were assessed, as well. The therapist traits (e.g., assertive, methodical, tolerant) were computed into a bipolar rating scale ranging from -5 (extremely undesirable and important to avoid) to +5 (extremely desirable and important to have). Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the potential relation between clients therapeutic history and preference of therapist personality traits.

Results: Regression analyses found that a clients’ previous therapy experiences significantly predicted preference for therapist personality traits when controlling for client personality traits and demographics (i.e., age and gender). Clients with more therapy experience (i.e., more sessions) and those with any experience in talk therapy were more likely to prefer a therapist with conscientiousness (b = 1.298, p = .018; b = 5.873, p = .007). Clients with more therapy experience are more likely to avoid a therapist with neuroticism (b = -1.195, p = .046) compared to those with less therapy experience. 

Discussion/Implications: Understanding a client’s prior therapy experience, such as the number of previous sessions, may allow therapists to adjust their approach to strengthen alliance and rapport. This study suggests that individuals with more extensive psychotherapy history prefer therapists who are more conscientious and avoid neurotic therapists compared to clients without a therapeutic history or with fewer therapy sessions. These findings indicate that client history impacts therapist preferences highlighting the importance of therapeutic experiencing on current treatment processes.