title: Differential client perspectives on therapy in Argentina and the United States: a cross-cultural study.
abstract: Although there is a growing body of research in both cross-cultural issues in psychotherapy and in the client's perspective, little is known about differences or similarities in the way clients from different cultures, particularly those from different nations, subjectively experience therapy. The present study addressed this gap through a qualitative analysis of interviews with former therapy clients in Argentina and the United States. The researchers used a consensual qualitative research (CQR; C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, & E. N. Williams, 1997, A guide to conducting consensual qualitative research, The Counseling Psychologist, Vol. 25, pp. 517-572; C. E. Hill, S. Knox, B. J. Thompson, E. N. Williams, S. A. Hess, & N. Ladany, 2005, Consensual qualitative research: An update, Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol. 52, pp. 196-205) methodology and provide illustrative examples from the raw transcripts. Among other differences, Argentine and U.S. participants differed in their experience of the therapy setting, the interventions their therapists used, and in the types of change they reported to result from therapy. Also notable, Argentine participants spoke a great deal more about change than U.S. participants. Results are preliminary, but provide implications for the adaptation of treatments to different cultures and for the cross-cultural validity of researchers' and policymakers' current definitions of treatment efficacy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New School for Social Research.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jock
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, New School for Social Research.
authors.forename: Kelly Wagner
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Bolger
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Belgrano.
authors.forename: Juan Martin
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gómez Penedo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Belgrano.
authors.forename: Vanina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Waizmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires.
authors.forename: Julieta
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Olivera
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires.
authors.forename: Andrés Jorge
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Roussos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001118:Argentina; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult