title: Orienting psychotherapists to better serve low income and minority patients.
abstract: As a part of a larger NIMH study, 29 psychotherapists who were beginning training at a large urban psychiatric outpatient clinic participated in a special orientation program. The orientation program had the following objectives: First, to increase the therapists' knowledge about low income and minority patients; second, to increase the therapists' sensitivity to minority patients' requests and problems; and, third, to increase the effectiveness of the therapeutic encounter. The majority of therapists acted as their own controls; they saw patients before and then after participating in the orientation program. Data indicated that therapists improved significantly in knowledge, sensitivity, and effectiveness as a result of the special therapist orientation program.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000193:education*; D011203:Poverty; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000193:education*; D012923:Social Class