What patients want from counseling and psychotherapy

In order to determine why individuals apply for help to a university counseling center, a parallel-response questionnaire was administered to the patients and therapists of the Kent State University psychological clinic immediately after each intake interview. Analysis focused on the frequency, structure, and patient-therapist agreement of reported wants. Eight of the 14 surveyed wants were endorsed by over 80% of the 57 patients surveyed. The items most frequently endorsed by patients were: "Get help in talking about what is really troubling me" (95%) and "Have someone respond to me on a person-to person basis" (91%). Although patients exceed therapists in the frequency of endorsement of nearly all of the items, both were in high agreement about the underlying dimensions of patient wants. Three major themes predominated for both the patients and therapist samples: Self-exploration, Catharsis, and Encouragement. The results underscore the importance of clarifying patient wants in the initial interview.