Sex differences in clinical judgments of male and female therapists

This study asked whether clinicians would judge a case differently if the patient were male or female. One hundred and three clinical social workers were given a clinical vignette with age and sex randomly varied. Clinicians were asked to evaluate the patient's functioning and to make treatment recommendations. As predicted, the female was rated more favorably than the male, suggesting that participants used different mental health standards for men and women. Predictions that the female would be seen as more organic and more in need of medication were not supported. Therapist gender effects emerged: female (but not male) therapists saw psychodynamic issues as less important for the older patient, and especially the older woman. Implications of these findings are discussed.The authors wish to acknowledge the contributions of April E. Fallon, Ph.D., to this study.