Relationship between therapist empathy and client-perceived working alliance in China: A multilevel modelling analysis

This naturalistic study examined the relationship between two types of therapist empathy, intellectual empathy and empathic emotion, and client-perceived working alliance (WA) in China. The study adopted the definitions and assessment methods of empathy recommended by Duan and Hill and used the theory of WA by Bordin and WA Inventory-Short by Tracey and Kokotovic. Eighty-six clients and 43 therapists from a university counselling centre at a comprehensive university in China participated in the study. Therapist intellectual empathy and empathic emotion and client-reported WA measured in six consecutive sessions from the second through the seventh session were assessed for each session. The results of multilevel modelling analyses showed that client-perceived WA increased significantly session after session, and therapist empathic emotion significantly predicted Tasks of WA. Moreover, there was significant therapist effect associated with Bond. In the context of empathy and WA research findings reported in the USA, some of the non-significant results of this study were intriguing. We discuss the study results with particular attention to the Chinese cultural context and present suggestions for future research.     

Cultural ruptures in short‐term therapy: Working alliance as a mediator between clients' perceptions of microaggressions and therapy outcomes

Aim: To determine whether or not clients' perceptions of microaggressions varied based on their own and the therapist's race/ethnicity and whether or not they would be negatively related to the effectiveness of therapy and if the working alliance would mediate this effect. Method: The study utilised a cross‐sectional, retrospective, methodology. Clients were recruited from a large university counselling centre in the United States (N=232 clients and 29 therapists). Results: Neither clients' race/ethnicity, therapists’ race/ethnicity, nor client‐therapist ethnic matching predicted perceptions of microaggressions. Clients' ratings of microaggressions were negatively associated with their psychological wellbeing; however, this effect was mediated by clients' ratings of the working alliance. Implications: Therapists should take into account the cultural messages they may be conveying to both white and racial/ethnic minority clients. Therapists should develop strategies that are consistent with a general therapeutic approach that promotes discussions about culture with their clients and, most importantly, should attend to the therapeutic relationship.     

The working alliance and the transference/countertransference relationship: Their manifestation with racial/ethnic and sexual orientation minority clients and therapists

Theoretical propositions are offered about the interrelations of three key concepts in psychotherapy: specifically, the working alliance, on the one hand, and both transference and countertransference, on the other. The role these concepts play, including the interactions between them, is extended to the areas of race/ethnicity and sexual orientation. We examine working alliance, transference, and countertransference considerations for therapy dyads in which at least one of the participants is a member of a racial/ethnic or sexual orientation minority group. Our hope is that this theoretical examination will generate further research and theory development on working alliance, transference, and countertransference where cultural factors such as race/ethnicity and sexual orientation are implicated in the therapeutic relationship.     

全球化语境下的多元文化能力模型及其在跨文化合作中的应用

全球化带来了丰富的多元文化经验, 开阔了人们视野的同时, 也造成了认知负担, 进而可能引发对外文化群体的抵触情绪和排斥行为。多元文化经验的普遍性和两面性突显了对其进行合理管理和灵活应用的重要性。然而, 现有的文化能力的理论大多在全球化研究早期提出, 已经无法应对全球化带来的新变化。在文化会聚主义理论框架下, 将文化视为动态发展的系统, 建构以元知识为核心的多元文化能力模型将有助于深入理解全球化问题。新模型的效用检验计划从文化知识管理和群际接触应对两方面检验多元文化能力在跨文化合作情境中的效用与机制, 以期为全球化环境中个人与组织开展跨文化交流与合作的实践提供理论指导。