An Intersectional Grounded Theory Investigation of White Counselors Attending to Therapeutic Alliance with Clients of Color
Open AccessThe purpose of this grounded theory study was to develop an abstracted theory concerning how White counselors engage in and attend to therapeutic alliance with clients of color with multiple marginalized identities in the context of individual counseling dyads. This study addressed two research questions: (1) How do White counselors attend to the cross-racial/ethnic therapeutic alliance in the context of individual counseling dyads? and (2) What factors influence how White counselors attend to the cross-racial/ethnic therapeutic alliance in the context of individual counseling dyads? This study included 18 participants with a range of social locations and professional counseling experiences with various communities of color. Participant data were collected over two rounds of semi-structured interviews, member checks, peer debriefing, and external auditing. The researcher collected and analyzed data using the Straussian tradition of grounded theory along with the theory of intersectionality to examine the narratives, experiences, and practices of 18 White counselors. The study’s findings are presented using Corbin and Strauss’ (2015) framework, consisting of causal conditions, contextual factors, intervening conditions, actions, phenomenon, consequences, and a core-category. This study resulted in a data-driven model explaining how these 18 White counselors engaged in and attended to the cross-racial/ethnic therapeutic alliance. Based on the data and findings, implications for counselor training and supervision, counseling and advocacy, multiculturalism and social justice counseling, and anti-racist praxis are discussed.
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