Key Dynamics Affecting Diagnosis for Unlicensed MFT Trainees
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Authors
Greene, Jessie
Issue Date
2010
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine possible preconceptions and biases that might affect Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) trainees' assessment of new clients. A sample of 20 MFT trainees (4 men and 16 women) were shown a one-minute video clip of a role-played client and asked to fill out a one-page response around how they would diagnose this client and what dynamics they noticed. The participants were then split into two groups (10 in group A and 10 in group B) and shown a 30-second video clip of the same client discussing her relationship. The transcript for the two videos was the same, with the exception that group A heard about the client's boyfriend, and group B heard about her girlfriend. They were then given a copy of the same one-page response form again. The final step was a different one-page response regarding their own dynamics and asking for personal feedback. The participants' responses suggest that they do not consider gender and ethnicity as much as behavior and mood when considering diagnosis, and only one participant wrote a question to the client about what it felt like to work with a therapist from a different culture. Four of the 10 participants in group B mentioned the client's sexual orientation directly, whereas none of the participants shown the video A mentioned that the client was heterosexual. Participants in group B were also more than twice as likely to mention that the client had expressed being pressured into treatment, compared to participants in group A. Forty-one percent of diagnostic questions written by participants after Clip 1 were directly diagnosis-based, meaning they contained wording directly related to DSM-IV-TR criteria or about appetite and sleeping habits. Thirty-seven percent of diagnostic questions written by participants in group B after clip 2 were relationship-based, whereas 39 percent of diagnostic questions written by participants in group A after clip 2 were relationship-based. These results suggest that, although there is a difference in how often the participants mentioned the client's sexual orientation, this did not lead to a difference in the amount of relationship-focused diagnostic questions. The results also suggest that participants did not view race and gender as being as important to mention as mood and affect, and that it was not considered necessary to ask the client about her experience as a woman of a different cultural identity. These findings could be used to help set the groundwork for future research that might influence how mental health professionals are trained.