INTERRACIAL AND INTRARACIAL QUASI-COUNSELING INTERACTIONS WHEN COUNSELORS AVOID DISCUSSING RACE

Dyadic interactions composed of Black clients and White or Black race-avoidant counselors in 1-time quasi-counseling sessions were influenced by myriad factors, including how these clients responded to influential purveyors of a race-neutralizing climate. Using C. E. Thompson, R. Worthington, and D. R. Atkinson's (1994) data set, 24 of these interactions were analyzed to identify significant patterns in the counseling process. The following core categories related to interactional quality were uncovered: smooth, exasperated, constricted, and disjunctive. The following factors explicated these interactional quality categories: (a) whether and how the client introduced race or race-related concerns, (b) client racial identify perspectives; and (c) client affiliation (or lack thereof) with the counselor based on race. The implications of these findings are discussed.