Similarities and differences in black men and women in psychotherapy

A survey of 93 psychiatrists concerning the psychotherapy of black men and women indicated that there were more similarities than differences between the men and women. Black male patients aged 31 to 40 and black women in the age ranges from 26 to 30 and 31 to 40 were most frequently seen for treatment. The patients were usually married and employed in technical or semiprofessional occupations. Both men and women had depression as the most frequent presenting problem, with work-related and family problems the next most frequent presenting problems.Black men were most often diagnosed as having affective (nonpsychotic) disorders, with anxiety disorders the second most frequent diagnosis. The reverse was true for women. Black men had aggression/passivity as the most frequent unconscious conflict and high/low self-esteem as the second. Again, the order of frequency was reversed for women. For both the men and the women, the psychiatrists felt racism was an important issue to consider in the treatment process and found that rage was related to racism.