Story highlights Black and working-class individuals are less likely to find therapists who will see them, according to new research

Experts worry that therapist bias could be an important barrier to mental health care for minority and low-income groups

(CNN) Minorities and lower-income individuals can face numerous challenges in getting treatment for depression and other mental health problems. They may lack insurance or transportation to a therapist's office; they may experience stigma in their communities around mental illness that prevents them from seeking care.

A new study finds that these groups face yet another barrier to mental health care: Therapists may be less likely to see them.

To study whether therapists had biases, researchers hired actors to record voice messages for 640 therapists in New York. In all the messages, the actors read scripts saying they had been feeling down, had insurance and would like to make an appointment.

The scripts varied the names, vocabulary and grammar to reflect race and class differences. For example, the name Amy Roberts was supposed to indicate that the caller was a white middle-class woman, whereas Latoya Johnson was used for a black middle-class woman. The scripts for working-class individuals used more slang and some grammatical errors.

The researchers waited one week for the therapists to return the calls, which went to a voice mailbox created for the study. The researchers recorded whether the therapists agreed to see the new client and whether they could accommodate the desired time, which was a weekday evening.

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