Effects of counselor touch on perceived counselor expertness, attractiveness and trustworthiness.

Abstract

The present study investigated the use of counselor touch, counselor gender and client gender in an experimental field study. Research participants consisted of 40 male and 40 female adults requesting counseling services from a mid-western, urban community mental health center. Two experienced counselors (one male, one female) conducted intake interviews on all 80 clients. Each counselor saw clients of each sex in both the touch and no-touch conditions, yielding a 2(touch vs. no touch) x 2(counselor gender) x 2(client gender) factorial design. Perceived counselor expertness, attractiveness and trustworthiness served as dependent measures and were measured by the Counselor Rating Form (CRF). Following the intake interview, clients completed the CRF. A further dependent measure consisted of clients' return rate for counseling services. Data analysis resulted in non-significant findings. Results are discussed in regard to previous research findings and implications for further research.