Treatment preferences among men attending outpatient psychiatric services

The assumption that men dislike psychotherapy has been espoused by clinicians, health care administrators, and those in the popular media. Whether this assumption holds true among help-seeking men has not been tested.

Treatment preferences of men attending outpatient psychiatric clinics were investigated to assess their willingness to engage in psychotherapy.

In three different studies (total N = 407; 170 men), male and female outpatients completed various self-report measures that assessed their treatment preferences, as well as psychiatric symptoms.

Across all three studies, men indicated a preference for psychotherapy over medication or no treatment/wait and see; a preference pattern that did not differ significantly from that of women. The only between-sex difference to emerge regarding preferences was in study 2; a greater proportion of men preferred individual therapy over group therapy compared to women. There were no between-sex differences with regard to symptoms.

Contrary to assumptions that portray men, generally, as unwilling or uninterested to engage in psychotherapy, men that have sought mental health services appear to prefer psychotherapy as their intervention of choice to address their mental health problems.