A broaching approach to improve psychotherapy for minoritised clients

Research on psychotherapy highlights the growing demand for mental health services among minoritised populations, while structural barriers and therapist ineffectiveness hinder quality care. This project aims to contribute by examining therapists’ deliberate efforts to address cultural aspects in therapy, known as broaching. The project has three main objectives: (1) to explore the processes behind broaching and their impact on therapist behavior using performance tasks and voice prosody measures; (2) to assess the immediate effects of broaching on therapy commitment and symptom improvement using paired therapist-client data; (3) to develop an automated broaching detection model to enhance therapists’ skills through a computerized training intervention. The long-term goal is to reduce disparities in psychotherapy outcomes for minoritised clients.