Do psychosocial treatment outcomes vary by race or ethnicity? A review of meta-analyses.

The past two decades have seen an increase in the number of psychotherapy clinical trials that were adequately powered to compare clinical outcomes across different racial and ethnic groups. Reviews have concluded that outcomes are generally equivalent, though there is still widespread skepticism of how these therapies perform in diverse populations. The current study reviewed 23 meta-analyses that considered race/ethnicity as a predictor of treatment outcome in psychotherapies across a range of psychiatric disorders. In general, these reviews did not find differences in outcomes between ethnic/racial minorities relative to White participants. Cumulative evidence of no race/ethnic differences in reported outcomes was strong for some disorders (e.g., depression, PTSD), though data were lacking or insufficient for other mental health conditions (e.g., borderline personality disorder, eating disorders). We also identified several gaps in the literature that provide directions for future research to better understand racial-ethnic differences in psychotherapy outcomes.