This study examined the perception of families who received counseling by family therapists who were unlike them in race and social class. This study was conducted as a qualitative investigation, as the researcher engaged in the semi-structured interview technique with families who have undergone family therapy. This research study investigated how lower social class African American families perceive their working alliance with middle social class White family therapists. The purpose of this study was to identify issues of oppression and bias which may have been present in the therapeutic venue, which may prevent lower social class status African American families from seeking therapy. An outcome of this study was an opportunity for improvement of the multicultural counseling competencies of family therapists to improve the working relationship with diverse populations.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study examined the perception of families who received counseling by family therapists who were unlike them in race and social class. This study was conducted as a qualitative investigation, as the researcher engaged in the semi-structured interview technique with families who have undergone family therapy. This research study investigated how lower social class African American families perceive their working alliance with middle social class White family therapists. The purpose of this study was to identify issues of oppression and bias which may have been present in the therapeutic venue, which may prevent lower social class status African American families from seeking therapy. An outcome of this study was an opportunity for improvement of the multicultural counseling competencies of family therapists to improve the working relationship with diverse populations.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Martin, Julie Marie Lambert"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Campus Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educational Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Donna M Gibson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:38:23Z","subjects":["Education","Counselor Education","Family Therapy","Multiculturalism","Race","Social Class","Working Alliance"],"languages":[],"rights":["© 2012, Julie Marie Lambert Martin"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/938","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Donna M Gibson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Martin, Julie Marie Lambert"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Campus Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Education","Counselor Education","Family Therapy","Multiculturalism","Race","Social Class","Working Alliance"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© 2012, Julie Marie Lambert Martin"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/938"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study examined the perception of families who received counseling by family therapists who were unlike them in race and social class. This study was conducted as a qualitative investigation, as the researcher engaged in the semi-structured interview technique with families who have undergone family therapy. This research study investigated how lower social class African American families perceive their working alliance with middle social class White family therapists. The purpose of this study was to identify issues of oppression and bias which may have been present in the therapeutic venue, which may prevent lower social class status African American families from seeking therapy. An outcome of this study was an opportunity for improvement of the multicultural counseling competencies of family therapists to improve the working relationship with diverse populations.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An Explorative Study of the Perceptions of Lower Social Class African American Families of the Working Alliance with Middle Social Class White Family Therapists"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Donna M Gibson"],"dc:creator":["Martin, Julie Marie Lambert"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study examined the perception of families who received counseling by family therapists who were unlike them in race and social class. This study was conducted as a qualitative investigation, as the researcher engaged in the semi-structured interview technique with families who have undergone family therapy. This research study investigated how lower social class African American families perceive their working alliance with middle social class White family therapists. The purpose of this study was to identify issues of oppression and bias which may have been present in the therapeutic venue, which may prevent lower social class status African American families from seeking therapy. An outcome of this study was an opportunity for improvement of the multicultural counseling competencies of family therapists to improve the working relationship with diverse populations.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/938"],"dc:rights":["© 2012, Julie Marie Lambert Martin"],"dc:subject":["Education","Counselor Education","Family Therapy","Multiculturalism","Race","Social Class","Working Alliance"],"dc:title":["An Explorative Study of the Perceptions of Lower Social Class African American Families of the Working Alliance with Middle Social Class White Family Therapists"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Campus Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:38:23Z"}