Does Client-Therapist Gender Matching Influence Therapy Course or Outcome in Psychotherapy?

Abstract

The present study examined the impact of therapist and client gender, and gender matching on therapy outcome and attendance variables. Analysis was based on a database of over 17,000 students treated in a university counseling center by over 200 therapists. Results indicated that gender of clients (but not the gender of therapist, or the match between therapists and clients) was associated with greater improvement in female clients. Clinical significance analysis indicates that female clients were more likely to start treatment in the clinical range and also end treatment in the “improved” category. Significant associations were found between client gender, therapist gender, and gender match on the total number of sessions attended by clients with females receiving more sessions.