Using Race and Culture in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Theory and Process. - Review - book review

Adolescence, Fall, 1999

HELMS, Janet E., & COOK, Donelda A. Using Race and Culture in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Theory and Process. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999. 374pp. (h).

The authors examine the impact of both the therapist's and the client's racial and cultural perspectives throughout the therapy process. They do not offer prescriptive techniques for counseling individuals from specific ethnic groups; rather, they apply more of an interpersonal model with race and culture as aspects of the therapeutic relationship to be processed in therapy. The book is divided into three sections. Section 1 discusses the implications of conducting effective therapy when the client's and therapist's socioracial histories, ethnic culture, social class, and various other sociodemographics, which are often used as euphemisms or proxies for race, are recognized as viable aspects of the person. Section 2 examines issues of therapy process. The focus is resolution of client and therapist racial and cultural issues within the therapy process. Section 3 examines alternative ways of viewing the therapy process. These include examination of cultural and racial considerations in therapy supervision; tha t is, the process of teaching students to perform therapy, research concerns, and answers to questions that have been frequently asked by students, colleagues, and supervisees.