Is age just a number when choosing a therapist? I am curious how the age variation between client and therapist impact the therapeutic process. This question has inspired me to reflect on my own preferences and the reasons behind them. For example, I personally would not want a therapist who is younger than me. I would seek out someone older, at least ten years. I had to ask myself why that is? I believe I would seek out an older therapist because I have stereotyped younger therapists as having less experience. I want someone with advice, experience, and an authoritative demeanor. I suppose when looking for a therapist it is important to acknowledge and honor your own presuppositions, even if they might be false. An older therapist might have just finished school and have less experience than someone in their 20’s or 30’s. Regardless of actual experience, I would still want an older therapist. Knowing what I prefer, I have to ask, why would someone choose me as a therapist when I am only in my 30’s?

     Choosing a therapist is important, you want to choose someone you anticipate you will have the most benefit from. I am curious how much of a factor age is when creating a client-therapist relationship. I wonder how well younger therapists work with individuals who are older than them. For example, is it possible for a 30-year-old female therapist to be compatible and provide effective therapy to a 60-year-old male? I believe it all depends on the individual’s situation and type of therapy given. I suppose an older client might find a younger therapist refreshing and presume they are less complacent and ‘set in their ways’. There are also advantages to having a similar age therapist. In the article linked below, Rosen (2012) found that age match had a significant impact on Affiliation complementarity scores, they ‘expect that the existence of shared generational reference points and the providers’ experiential understating of the phase of life concerns may have accounted, at least in part, for this result. In the same way, we often attribute a shared worldview as existing within ethnic communities, age often represents a shared set of experiences and cultural reference points that may be useful in developing complementarity in the clinical intake.’

    I find it interesting that I would still seek out an older therapist even though I likely have a very different set of experiences and ‘millennial’ cultural reference points. Addressing age gaps in therapy client relationships seem to be more complex than Rosen (2012) explored.

•  If I were in a classroom setting I would ask my classmates whether or not they have a preference for their client's age or the age of their personal therapist?
•  Is it possible to overcome stereotypes and relate to clients with large age gaps?

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6338422/

 Here is a quick spotlight of the article:

 Rosen, D. C., Miller, A. B., Nakash, O., Halpern, L., & Alegría, M. (2012). Interpersonal complementarity in the mental health intake: a mixed-methods study. Journal of counseling psychology, 59(2), 185–196. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027045

Although provider and client match of race/ethnicity received only partial support, a match in age had a significant impact on Affiliation complementarity scores. As described, results indicated an interaction of client age and provider age, suggesting that clients matched with providers of similar age groups fared better in the initial session. Although the current study did not provide definitive answers as to why age match is associated with complementarity for both younger and older clients, we expect that the existence of shared generational reference points and the providers’ experiential understating of phase of life concerns may have accounted, at least in part, for this result. In the same way we often attribute a shared worldview as existing within ethnic communities, age often represents a shared set of experiences and cultural reference points that may be useful in developing complementarity in the clinical intake. A significant relationship with the affiliation score suggests that age concordant dyads tended to reciprocate warm/friendly behaviors at greater rates than their discordant counterparts, which we would expect to correlate with the comfort, trust, and familiarity that one feels with their provider. Age match has often been overlooked as a relevant variable in psychotherapy process and outcome research. Based on the interaction observed in the present study, age may well deserve additional attention in future work.