Abstract: | A random sample of New London County, Connecticut, residents received a questionnaire about 9 mental health professions or professionals (MHPs): clergyperson, marriage and family counselor, nonpsychiatric physician, psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse, psychologist, psychotherapist, social worker, and telephone crisis counselor. Respondents defined each MHP and reported their satisfaction with treatment, which MHP they would recommend, their referral source(s), licensure requirements, and fees. A mixed-design ANOVA was computed, with comfortableness as the dependent variable; age, sex, saw an MHP, and education, the between-Ss variables; and the 9 MHPs, the within-Ss variable. A significant MHP effect showed that physicians were perceived as slightly more comfortable than were psychologists (nonsignificant), who, nevertheless, were perceived as exceeding all other trained MHPs in the comfortableness experienced by their clients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |