Treatment outcomes of Asian- and White-American clients in outpatient therapy

This study was the first to examine extensively the outcomes of Asian-American clients in mental health treatment. The research evaluated the short-term effects of outpatient individual psychotherapy. The focus on shortterm outcome was particularly appropriate in view of earlier utilization studies that have consistently found higher premature termination rates and shorter treatment stays for Asian clients relative to White clients. The study used multiple outcome criteria from two different sources: Client self-reports of symptomatology and satisfaction with services and therapist evaluations of client symptomatology and adjustment. To better interpret ethnic effects, client and therapist variables (e.g., social class and pretreatment adjustment) that often have been confounded with ethnicity were accounted for in a multiple regression design. Results indicated poorer short-term treatment outcomes for Asian-American clients. Asian clients were less satisfied than White clients on all five satisfaction indices and reported greater depression, hostility, and anxiety after four sessions of treatment. No ethnic differences were found on the therapist-rated outcome measures, but there was a tendency for therapists to evaluate Asian clients as having lower levels of psychosocial functioning than White clients after short-term treatment. The findings underscore the need for culturally responsive therapies because Asian-American clients are experiencing worse outcomes, and these outcomes cannot be attributed to cultural differences between Asian and White clients that exist prior to treatment.