On what bases do patients choose their therapists?

Forty-four outpatients were given the opportunity to have two sessions each with two different therapists and then choose one for ongoing treatment. Patients chose the therapist whom they viewed as more helpful and liked better, but not on the basis of demographic similarity or pretreatment expectations about the therapist's qualities. Patients reported liking the opportunity to choose and stated definite reasons for their choices. However, 75% of the patients chose the second therapist. Possible explanations for the preponderant choice of the second therapist are discussed.