Research has suggested that physical attractiveness contributes to subjects' perception of female competency. This finding has generated interest in investigating the effect of physical attractiveness on subjects' perceptions of competency in male and female therapists. Undergraduates (N=192) viewed a 15-minute videotaped session reflecting either an attractive or unattractive male or female psychotherapist who exhibited either a directive or a nondirective therapeutic style. Following the videotape observation, subjects rated 30 items on an adjective list according to the degree that the items were descriptive of the therapist. Subjects also rated the therapist on the basis of how much they liked him/her. Results showed that the female therapist was least preferred and was rated as less competent only when she was attractive and when she exhibited a nondirective style. The attractive, nondirective female therapist was perceived as less confident, sure, and skilled than all the other therapists except for the unattractive male nondirective therapist. The findings suggest that subjects appear to show differential responses to the attractiveness of the therapist depending on the gender of the therapist. (NRB)