White Counselor Trainees' Racial Identity and Working Alliance Perceptions
Journal of Counseling and Development, Vol. 77, No. 3 (Summer 1999): 324-329. DOI: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.1999.tb02455.x. © American Counseling Association 1999.
Abstract
Racial identity has been theorized to significantly affect cross-racial counseling relationships (Helms, 1984, 1995). This study examined the direct impact of White racial identity of 124 counselor trainees on working alliance formation in a same-racial and cross-racial vicarious counseling analogue. Regardless of the race of the client, disintegration and reintegration attitudes negatively affected working alliance ratings, and pseudoindependent and autonomy attitudes positively affected working alliance ratings. Implications for counseling, supervision, training, and research are discussed.