Therapy preference

Section A
A review of the literature consisting of a systematic search and narrative review to determine i) whether adults in the general population have psychotherapy preferences, and ii) whether there are specific individual characteristics that predict preference for psychotherapies within the general population. There was significant variation in design of studies, with the majority being analogue surveys. A mixed picture emerged with the majority of studies comparing CBT to other therapies. Similarly, a variety of individual characteristic predicted preference in certain studies. The review found that within the general population people do have preferences for different psychotherapies.

Section B
A quantitative survey-based study investigating whether there are clusters of psychotherapy preferences within the general population. Findings showed three distinct credibility clusters. In cluster one people found all psychotherapies of relatively low credibility, the second cluster found all psychotherapies of relatively high credibility. The final cluster found Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy more credible compared to Psychodynamic psychotherapy and Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy. Certain dispositional characteristics including general wellbeing predicted cluster membership. This study adds to a paucity of research exploring credibility of differing psychotherapies in the general population.