Examining Expectations Among Polynesian Americans About Seeking Psychotherapy

Research on culturally diverse clients has investigated expectations about psychotherapy and intention to seek counseling. However, few studies have investigated how these factors may be linked to specific client expectations, such as advice-seeking (the client expecting the therapist to give advice) and audience-seeking (the client expecting to lead the sessions) behaviors, particularly for U.S. racial-ethnic minority populations.

This study used a survey to investigate 593 Polynesian Americans' gender and ethnic preferences for therapists, as well as the mediating effects of advice- and audience-seeking behaviors and their associations with intention to seek counseling and expectations about psychotherapy.

Results indicated that audience-seeking behavior mediated the association between expectations about the psychotherapy process and intention to seek counseling for psychological and interpersonal concerns and between expectations about psychotherapy outcomes and intention to seek counseling for academic concerns.

Culturally competent counseling for Polynesian Americans, a fast-growing yet understudied population in the United States, is needed, particularly by psychotherapists working with these individuals. Expectations about the process of therapy, such as audience-seeking behavior, may be important to consider in working with this population.