Attitudes toward Psychotherapists, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, and Psychoanalysts

Sixty studies, published between 1948 and 1995, on attitudes toward mental health professionals, particularly psychotherapists, were systematically content analyzed. Descriptive results concerning the topics status, expertise, personality attributes, physical appearance, sex/gender, psychotherapeutic settings, and interactions between therapists and clients are presented. Public-image problems of psychotherapists, research deficits, methodological problems, and sex/gender issues are critically discussed.