A first look at diversity gaps in psychotherapy research publications and representation

There is a pervasive underrepresentation of researchers and clinicians from diverse backgrounds in psychology. This is the first study to focus on diversity gaps in Psychotherapy Research. We examine a gap in the representation of research from low-income countries and summarize barriers and solutions to increase diversity in the field.

We examined trends in submission, acceptance, and rejection rates of all submissions (n = 7183) from 75 countries, representing eight geographical regions to Psychotherapy Research, between 28 April 2005 and 22 June 2023.

Most submissions were from Europe and North America, with the fewest from Africa and Asia/Northeast Asia. High-income countries had significantly more submissions than low-income countries, with gaps increasing over time. North America and Europe had the highest acceptance rates and Africa and Asia/Southeast Asia had the lowest rates.

Psychotherapy Research is one of the most internationally representative journals in the field. Yet, we found underrepresentation of non-western countries. There is a need to increase the representation of research participants and researchers from non-western countries through direct initiatives and investments in research and researchers from underrepresented backgrounds.