Effects of counselor and client racial similarity on the counselor's response patterns and skills.

To test the hypothesis that factors of racial differences may mediate counselor–client interactions in terms of the counselor's attending and expressive response style and the delivery and type appropriateness of responses, 60 graduate level Black and White counselor trainees were asked to counsel both Black and White clients. As hypothesized, Ss' delivery scores and the type appropriateness of responses were significantly better under conditions of racial similarity with the clients. Both Black and White Ss were rated as being more expressive than attending in their response patterns toward Black clients. Findings have implications for counselor–client relationships and professional training programs for psychological counseling in multiracial settings. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)