Interesting posts by Neo-Neocon and Dr. Helen on matching patients and therapists, and the potential prejudices on both sides of the equation. Neo writes:

And, although this sounds like some sort of bad joke, I know quite a few therapists who say they would have difficulty treating a client whom they know to be a Republican. So it’s not just clients who want therapists who are as much like themselves as possible—some therapists return the favor.

If therapists only want patients they deem to be "deserving" of empathy, how empathetic can they really be?