Racial-cultural events in group counseling as perceived by group therapists

The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore the nature of the retrospective experience of helpful and difficult racial-cultural events in group counseling as perceived by White group therapists and group therapists of color. Racial-cultural events were defined as incidents, interactions, or processes in the counseling group that group therapists believed were related to or influenced by visible racial dimensions, and any stereotypes and assumptions pertaining to those dimensions. The present study sampled 14 male and female White group therapists and group therapists of color holding psychology and social work degrees, and who had a minimum of five years of experience working in a variety of group counseling settings. Participants completed demographic questionnaires and in-depth, semi-structured telephone interviews. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed, and transcriptions were analyzed using grounded theory. The results of this study provide insight into effective group counseling with multicultural populations, and offer a basis for continuing education seminars for practicing professionals, as well as designing training programs for current and future clinical and counseling trainees