Published in:
01-02-2012 | Brief Report
The Effects of Working Alliance and Client-Clinician Ethnic Match on Recovery Status
Authors:
Puihan J. Chao, John J. Steffen, Elaine M. Heiby
Published in:
Community Mental Health Journal
|
Issue 1/2012
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Abstract
Sixty-seven clients with severe and persistent mental illnesses (SPMI) recruited from community mental health centers were interviewed to assess their subjective quality of life, self-efficacy, importance of ethnic matching and level of working alliance (WA) with their clinicians. Results revealed that clients in the ethnically matched group reported significantly higher WA compared to the non-matched group. Clients who reported a higher level of WA also reported better recovery status. Results suggest that, in a multicultural community, ethnic matching may help augment WA and address potential barriers to treatment engagement, and identifying strategies to promote WA may enhance treatment effectiveness in programs for SPMI.