[Attitudes toward psychotherapy in the general population]

Abstract

Attitudes towards psychotherapy are important predictors for the acceptance and usage of psychotherapy. A survey examined attitudes towards psychotherapy in a sample representative of the German population including 2089 persons between 14 to 92 years of age. Two thirds of the sample indicated a positive attitude towards psychotherapy. Men as well as individuals with lower education reported a more negative attitude towards psychotherapy than women and persons with higher educational level. Education had a medium effect size (d=0.44). Individuals with somatoform symptoms did not indicate a more negative attitude towards psychotherapy than the general population. Even though the majority of the population has a more positive attitude towards psychotherapy, this positive attitude does not apply for all groups of the -population.