Conceptualizing a Case of Indirect Racism Using the White Racial Identity Development Model.

The majority of counselors are White, so their experiences with racism and discrimination may be limited. However, it is likely that White counselors will work with clients who have experienced racism or discrimination. The purpose of this article is to describe how one might use a model of White racial identity development to conceptualize and treat a White client who has experienced racism directed toward his ethnic minority friend. Specific attention is paid to both the client's and the counselor's White racial statuses and how these interact within the counseling process.

Racism continues to be a major social problem in the United States. The effects of racism can be felt directly by those who are victims of it, or indirectly by those who witness or hear about it. A number of those who experience discrimination will cope through reliance on family and other community supports, while some will seek professional help. Counselors will encounter clients who have been the victims of racism and clients who have witnessed racism and are trying to cope with the strong reactions that this elicits.

In this article I focus on "Sol Benjamin," who has come for counseling because of some unsettling feelings triggered by his friend's reaction to racism. In particular, Sol had witnessed several incidents of racism and discrimination directed at "Mr. X," who is a member of a visible racial and ethnic group (Helms & Cook, 1999). Although Mr. X has responded to these experiences passively with humor, he became more socially withdrawn and finally broke down in tears to Sol. Thus, Sol is seeking counseling to understand his confusion about Mr. X's reactions as well as his own feelings of anger and embarrassment that contributed to a growing sense of awkwardness and alienation in his relationship with Mr. X.

In this article, I briefly review three models of White racial identity development (The Hardiman White Racial Identity Development Model, Hardiman, 1982; White Racial Identity Development, Helms, 1984, 1995; White Racial Consciousness Development, Rowe, Bennett, & Atkinson, 1994). Second, I discuss how the White Racial Identity Development model helps me conceptualize and understand the cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal experiences of Sol Benjamin as well as the counseling process and counselor-client relationship. Within this section I delineate several intervention and treatment implications from the model, and the assessment issues and areas mental health counselors need to attend to with this client. This includes treatment issues for the counselor to consider, including his or her own racial awareness and possible reactions to Sol's experiences.

HARDIMAN'S WHITE RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT MODEL

One of the first efforts to develop a model of White racial identity postulated five stages (Hardiman, 1982, as cited in Sue & Sue, 1999). Each will briefly be described.

Stages

Naivete: A person in this first stage resembles a child who has little or no awareness of race and racism. This person may have had little contact with people from diverse races or ethnicities, so may come across as curious about racial or ethnic differences. As such, this person is likely to hold negative attitudes and exhibit racial biases toward people from diverse backgrounds.

Acceptance: The acceptance stage is characterized by the belief that all people have equal opportunities to succeed. When a person or group of people do not succeed, it is seen as a characteristic of that person or group (i.e., lack of motivation or racial defects). Because racism and discrimination are denied, there may be a tendency to blame the victim.

Resistance: The third stage of white racial identity development comes about as a result of an event or events that destroy one's denial system about racial issues. This event may include development of a friendship with an ethnic minority individual or the observance of discrimination. Because of this, the person is no longer able to deny the existence of the realities of racial issues and oppression. The individual also begins to recognize him or herself as white and identifies his or her own racist attitudes. Accompanying feelings may include "anger, pain, hurt, rage, and frustration" (Sue & Sue, 1999, p. 148). These feelings are likely to be directed toward one's own racial group. This person is also likely to feel awkward around people of color, for fear of saying or doing something that is deemed racist.

Redefinition: Following the pain and discomfort associated with the resistance stage, the individual begins to "confront [her or his] biases and prejudices; and accepts responsibility for one's Whiteness" (Sue & Sue, 1999, p. 149). This person will come to understand how she or he has benefited from being White, and how that has negatively impacted people of color. This person becomes more comfortable interacting with people from different ethnic and racial heritages than the person does in the resistance stage.

Internalization: Once the person has developed a nonracist identity, he or she has entered the final stage of White racial identity. This person is now willing to work to eradicate oppression and racism.

HELMS'S WHITE RACIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT MODEL

Racial identity typically develops as we move from a lack of awareness of our own racial background to an awareness and integration of our race into our sense of who we are. Helms (1984; 1995) postulated a model of White racial identity development. According to Sue and Sue (1999), "development of a healthy White identity requires movement through two phases: Phase I, Abandonment of Racism, and Phase II, Defining a Nonracist White Identity" (p. 150). Initially conceptualized as a stage model, Helms (1995) later described the stages as ego statuses. This term implies that each status is a complex expression of one's racial identity (Helms, 1995). For each status, there is an Information Processing Strategy (IPS) that reflects certain attitudes, behaviors, and feelings an individual uses to deal with race-related information and incidents. For individuals who identify as White, movement through the statuses entails becoming aware of racism and "abandonment of entitlement" (Helms, 1995, p. 184). Six ego statuses are postulated, which will be described.

Abandonment of Racism

Contact: The contact status entails a lack of awareness of racism and one's participation in a racist society. The IPS is obliviousness. An example may be "When my family immigrated to the United States they did not speak any English. But they learned the language and worked hard. Immigrants who expect us to learn their language just need to learn English and stop complaining about how tough things are for them."

Disintegration: A person experiencing the disintegration status recognizes his or her Whiteness and may feel guilty when she or he recognizes racial differences or confusion related to race and racial issues. The IPS includes ambivalence about racial issues. An example may be not telling racist jokes, but not yet feeling comfortable confronting others who do tell racist jokes. For example, "When she told that racist joke, I laughed even though I didn't find it to be funny. I just didn't want to offend her by not laughing."

Reintegration: A person experiencing the reintegration status idealizes Whiteness and is intolerant of people from other racial backgrounds. The IPS may include negative out-group distortion. Life decisions may be highly influenced by race. This person may focus on issues such as reverse discrimination and lack empathy for others' histories. For example, "I am sick and tired of qualified Whites losing out on jobs because certain quotas need to be filled. Hire the most qualified!"

Defining A Nonracist Identity

Pseudoindependence: This ego status is characterized by an intellectual commitment to one's own racial group, but there is not full tolerance of people from other groups. This person may experience strong feelings about ethnic minorities such as fear of Black people. A common IPS is selective perception. Although this person may attempt to help others from different racial groups, it may come across as paternalistic and deny the full extent of the other's culture. An example may be "I don't have a problem with minorities, but when those two Black guys got on the elevator with me, I admit that I was nervous."

Immersion/emersion: The immersion/emersion status is characterized by an understanding of racism and one's participation in a racist society and may include racial activism. A common IPS is hyper-vigilance to racism. A person experiencing these issues is likely to recognize how he or she has benefited from being White in a racist society. For example, a client may indicate that she or he is beginning volunteer work at a community center in a Hispanic neighborhood.

Autonomy: The final ego status, autonomy, is characterized by the individual educating herself or himself about his or her Whiteness, letting go of one's privileged status, and making a commitment to a pluralistic society. A common IPS is flexibility. This person is comfortable interacting with people of color and believes that through education we can make a better society for all members. For example, "I believe that if more of us White people made more than a superficial effort to obtain accurate information about racial groups other than our own, then we could help make this country a better place for all peoples" (Helms, 1995, p. 185).

It is important to note that an individual is not likely to exhibit all of the characteristics of only one ego status. Rather, this model is fluid, with people exhibiting characteristics of multiple statuses and movement from one primary status to another, depending upon the situation.

WHITE RACIAL CONSCIOUSNESS MODEL

Rowe et al. (1994) posited several weaknesses with the existent models of White racial identity development. They argued that these models do not describe identity development at all, but instead describe White people's awareness and sensitivity to people of other racial/ethnic groups. Moreover, Rowe et al. pointed out that a weakness with Helms's model is that it was initially developed only in relation to Whites' interactions with Blacks. Given these and other limitations of the models, Rowe et al. presented a model of White Racial Consciousness.

Rowe et al. (1994) defined White racial consciousness as "one's awareness of being White and what that implies in relation to those who do not share White group membership" (pp. 133-134). The emphasis in this model is on attitudes one has regarding racial issues and people of other races. Attitudes change as a result of dissonance created through experiences with people from different races and cultures. The statuses of White racial consciousness can be clustered as Unachieved or Achieved and are presented below.

Unachieved White Racial Consciousness

Avoidant type: The avoidant type does not consider his or her own White identity, nor will he or she express concern for racial issues. Dissonance may lead to further denial or to an expression of racial attitudes that "lack personal meaningfulness" (p. 136). An individual exhibiting avoidant characteristics will fail to acknowledge the importance of race and the existence of racial problems in the United States. For example, a client may indicate "I don't know what all the fuss about discrimination is about. Those people have just as many opportunities to succeed as we do."

Dependent type: A person whose attitudes represent the dependent type appears to have committed to a set of attitudes toward race, but these attitudes are superficial and have not been internalized. Typically, these attitudes are dependent upon those of one's family or peer group. An example may be a person who looks toward his or her peers' attitudes toward race and adopts those attitudes in order to conform.

Dissonant type: A person whose attitudes represent the dissonant type is uncertain about his or her White racial consciousness and other racial/ethnic minority concerns. These attitudes are commonly a result of the dissonance created by previously held attitudes and recent experiences. This person may be experiencing confusion about racial issues. For example, a client may indicate that "I have always been taught that Blacks are lazy, but I have a coworker whom I admire. She is anything but lazy. I don't know if that speaks more about her, about Black people in general."

Achieved White Racial Consciousness

Dominative type: A person whose attitudes represent the dominative type is very ethnocentric and believes that Whites are dominant over racial/ethnic minorities because Whites have achieved more. There is a lack of awareness as to how historical factors such as discrimination have led to this state of affairs. This person does not see many similarities between himself or herself and members of racial and ethnic groups. Dominative attitudes may be expressed either actively (e.g., overt hostility) or passively (e.g., reluctance to interact with people from different races/ethnicities). For example, a client may state that "If minorities really wanted to get ahead in the country, they'd stop whining about racism and get to work."

Conflictive type: A person whose attitudes represent the conflictive type is opposed to overt racism, but is also opposed to programs that reduce or eliminate racism (e.g., affirmative action). This person appears to value interactions with racial/ethnic minorities, yet may still hold more favorable attitudes toward their own group. An example is stating that "Although I believe that discrimination is wrong, I don't think that Whites should not get jobs just because a less-qualified minority needs to be hired."

Reactive type: A person whose attitudes represent the reactive type is aware of the significance of discrimination in the United States and is reacting to this awareness. This person is likely to believe that Whites in the United States benefit from racism and are responsible for it, and thus he or she experiences anger toward Whites. This person, however, may over-commit to people of color and may come across as paternalistic. Consequently, this individual may become alienated by the dominant culture, while not being totally accepted by some people from racial and ethic groups, because he or she is "striving to identify with the minority culture while rejecting the majority" (p. 140). A client may say "I am disgusted by the racism that has permeated U.S. culture. It's an embarrassment to be White."

Integrative Type: A person whose attitudes represent the integrative type is able to take a "pragmatic view" of racial and ethnic issues and people. In particular, his or her behavior toward people from racial and ethnic groups is governed by "the reality of what will make a difference" (p. 141). Unlike those expressing reactive attitudes, a person with integrative attitudes neither oppresses nor idealizes ethnic minorities. He or she also values a pluralistic society and has a complex understanding of the factors that affect issues of racial and ethnic people. Finally, this individual is comfortable with his or her Whiteness and interacting with people from various racial and ethnic groups.

Although Rowe et al. (1994) suggest that their model of White racial identity is different from and an improvement on Helms's model, there is some evidence to suggest that the two models are representing the same constructs (e.g., Block & Carter, 1996; Thompson, 1996). Block and Carter suggested that the issues of consciousness development (Rowe et al., 1994) and identity development (Helms, 1984) "refer to how an individual views the self as well as how the individual views other groups" (p. 327). They further argued that because the two theories are in essence one and the same ("A rose by any other name"), it makes little empirical sense to "abandon research on White racial identity attitude theory in favor of the new theory of White racial consciousness" (p. 333). Thompson more forcefully argued that Rowe et al. misrepresented Helms's theory. For example, Thompson pointed out that Rowe et al. criticized WRID because it describes "how Whites develop different levels of sensitivity to and appreciation of other racial/ethnic groups, ... but little about White identity" (Rowe et al., 1994, p. 131). However, Thompson pointed out that in order for a White person to develop a nonracist identity, the individual must accept her or his Whiteness and the cultural implications associated with being White.

Because of these counter-criticisms, and the ample empirical support of the WRID, the remainder of this article will focus on Helms's WRID model to conceptualize Sol's issues related to indirect racism.

ASSESSMENT OF THE CLIENT'S REACTIONS

Assessing the client's racial identity entails knowledge of each of the ego statuses and attempting to use them to help make sense of the client's presenting concerns. Helms (1995) argued that a person will not fit perfectly into one type, but may have characteristics of multiple statuses. For our purposes, the important point will be to determine which of the statuses best represents this client. This may be accomplished through identification of and understanding the client's cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal experiences.

Cognitively, we have discovered that Sol is experiencing some confusion about Mr. X's response to racism. This confusion stems from lack of understanding of Mr. X's reactions and Sol's personal feelings toward the racism directed toward his friend. Mr. X's common response to incidents of racism has been through humor, but he also has made an effort to be forgiving. Because Sol is angry about these incidents, he cannot understand why Mr. X also does not respond with anger. One goal of treatment will be to help Sol come to a better understanding of this confusion.

Given Sol's cognitive presentation, we can begin to examine WRID statuses in an effort to understand his level of White racial identity. Confusion about race and racial issues is a common cognitive state associated with the Disintegration status (Helms, 1995). However, Sol's reaction also may relate to protective feelings he has for Mr. X. Helms (1995) posited that a characteristic of the Pseudoindependence status is the person's efforts to help people from different racial backgrounds, but he or she may come across as paternalistic. Perhaps Sol's confusion relates to his desire to make things well for Mr. X., in a paternalistic way. Finally, if Sol's White racial identity were congruent with the Immersion/emersion status, he would likely be hyper-vigilant to issues of racism. However, it is unlikely that he would experience confusion over racism, but would be clear about his thoughts and feelings.

To begin assessing Sol's level of White racial identity, it will be important for the counselor to make finer distinctions among the Disintegration, Pseudoindependence, and Immersion/emersion statuses in relation to Sol's confusion. The IPS associated with the Disintegration status is ambivalence. The counselor may ask Sol to describe where he thinks his confusion comes from. If the confusion relates more to the client's guilt about racism and his Whiteness, it is likely that Sol's racial identity is associated with the Disintegration status. Given the client's education, life experiences, and friendships, it is unlikely that he is just beginning to recognize racial issues, however. Thus, it seems improbable that Sol is functioning at the Disintegration status. Although Sol may be wanting to help Mr. X in a paternalistic manner (Pseudoindependence), this, too seems remote. However, the counselor can query about Sol's affective reactions to people from other minority groups. We would expect strong emotional reactions to emerge. Finally, the counselor can ask Sol to describe his understanding of racism (Immersion/emersion). The counselor also will help this client examine his perceptions of how he may benefit from being White in a White society. Through Sol's description of racism, the counselor may look for examples of hyper-vigilance to racism.

Affectively, Sol presents with anger. This anger may be directed in several directions. First, he may be feeling angry with those who have been racist toward his friend. The counselor also needs to assess the extent to which Sol is angry with Mr. X for not confronting the racists he has encountered. The client also may be feeling anger at the White culture in general, for perpetuating racism. Finally, Sol may feel some anger with himself for his Whiteness. In addition to the anger, the client has responded on at least two occasions with embarrassment. This, too, needs to be explored in greater detail. For instance, the counselor will want to find out where that embarrassment comes from. Was he embarrassed for his friend, was he more embarrassed about being White in those situations, or is it a combination of these? Perhaps Sol was embarrassed because he did not know if Mr. X would be angry with him, because Sol is White.

Applying what we know about the client's feelings to Helms's identity development model, we can easily rule out the Contact status. It is clear that Sol is aware of and has strong feelings about racism. Likewise, there is no evidence that Sol's identity relates to the Reintegration or Pseudoindependence statuses. A common feeling associated with a person whose status relates to Disintegration is guilt about racial issues. It is not clear if Sol's anger and embarrassment are tied to feelings of guilt. However, given the ambivalence associated with racial issues for a person functioning at the Disintegration status, it is unlikely that Sol's obliviousness of racial issues has disintegrated. Between the identified thoughts and feelings, it seems likely that Sol identifies himself in the Immersion/Emersion status of Helms's model. His anger and embarrassment may relate to his realization of how he has benefited in a racist society and how that has likewise served to oppress others. As previously mentioned, the counselor can help Sol examine these issues in greater detail.

Finally, we must understand the client's interpersonal world. We understand that Sol comes from a Jewish background and his best friend is an ethnic minority individual. It would be important for the counselor to gather more information about his relationships with his family, his girlfriend, and other friends. Additionally, Sol is a second generation Jewish American. Where did his family come from? To what extent does Sol see himself as acculturated? To what extent do his parents and Sol identify with his parents' country of origin? How important is his Jewish heritage in defining his identity? The counselor must also consider the extent to which his parents expect Sol to identify with his Jewish origins and culture. Moreover, the counselor should explore Sol's potential experiences of prejudice himself (Dubow, Pargament, Boxer, & Tarakeshwar, 2000). For example, has he or his family ever experienced any anti-Semitism, and if so, how does this impact his worldview? Depending on Sol's country of origin, he or his family may have experienced discrimination. If he has witnessed prejudice directed at his immigrant parents, he may have a sense of understanding and empathy for Mr. X's experiences. Also, if his parents were political or religious refugees, this may impact Sol's worldview. It may be that Sol's reaction to the observed racism perpetrated against Mr. X is influenced by his own experiences of discrimination. The counselor may be able to help Sol understand Mr. X's reactions based upon Sol's own experiences. However, it should be noted that Sol is White and is thus an "invisible" minority, whereas Mr. X is a "visible" minority. That is, when others see Mr. X, they see him as a racial minority, whereas they see Sol as White. Despite the distinction between visible and invisible minorities, however, Dubow et al. point out that "given the minority status of Jewish individuals in United States society, individuals possessing a Jewish identity are likely to be subject to the same issues that apply to other ethnic groups (e.g., assimilation, discrimination)" (pp. 419-420). An in-depth exploration of these issues is warranted.

Specific questions and issues the counselor may raise with Sol will focus on clarifying his confusion and his feelings. For example, the counselor may inquire about the client's personal and familial experiences with discrimination and anti-Semitism. If in fact Sol or his family have experienced such treatment, the counselor will then help Sol explore his reactions to these incidents. It is possible that Sol is angry with his own or his family's encounters with discrimination, so his confusion about Mr. X may relate to his friend's not responding similarly. The counselor also may help Sol explore how his level of White racial identity has been shaped, and how this relates to his presenting feelings. For example, if the counselor suspects that the client has achieved an Immersion/emersion identity, the counselor can help Sol come to a meaningful understanding about how his own attitudes about racism are impacting his presenting concerns.

COUNSELING PROCESS

The counseling process will be affected by several different factors, including counselor, client, and relationship issues. Because client issues have already been described, this section focuses mainly on counselor variables and the interaction of the counselor's and the client's level of White racial consciousness.

Counselor Characteristics

Among the most researched counselor variables to impact the counseling process are expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness (Strong, 1968). Essentially, Strong argued that counselors who are perceived by their clients to exhibit these three qualities would develop better working relationships. There has been some examination of related issues in relation to multicultural counseling. In particular, Sue and Zane (1987) have emphasized the importance for counselors to establish credibility when working with and retaining ethnic minority clients in counseling. Sue and Zane pointed out that counselor credibility either can be ascribed or achieved. Ascribed credibility is the status that is assigned by others, normally as a result of one's position, while achieved credibility is that which is attained through the counselor's skills. Within some cultures, the counselor is seen as a professional who possesses specialized training and expertise. Clients from these cultures thus will ascribe a level of status to counselors (Sue & Zane, 1987). Ascribed status may be enhanced through matching the race or ethnicity of the client and counselor. Additionally, the counselor's age may enhance ascribed status, as is the possession of an advanced degree. However, the counselor must also work to maintain that status (i.e., achieved). Through demonstrating knowledge of the client's culture, multicultural counseling skills (competencies), and offering a "gift" the counselor will be able to help the client. Sue and Zane suggest that provision of a "gift" early in the counseling process will enhance client expectations for success. Gifts may include hope, reduction of negative symptoms, or normalization.

When considering counselor variables, it is important to address the multicultural counseling competencies proposed by Sue, Arredondo, and McDavis (1992). These competencies serve as guidelines for specific attitudes and beliefs, skills, and behaviors that counselors must possess. Among these competencies are the counselor's awareness of his or her own assumptions, values, and biases, understanding the worldview of the client, and developing appropriate interventions and techniques (Arredondo, 1999). It is the counselor's role to enable the client to verbalize and explore issues and the impact of racism on White people in general, and on the client in particular. To accomplish this, the counselor must be able to comfortably and competently articulate race and issues of racism. The counselor in this scenario should function predominantly from an Autonomy identity status to facilitate this discussion. Although the counselor described in this article is working with a White client, she or he is dealing with racial issues. Moreover, the client's status as a second generation Jewish American introduces additional multicultural issues.

The Code of Ethics of the American Mental Health Counselors Association (2000) informs counselors that we "will actively attempt to understand the diverse cultural backgrounds of the clients with whom [we] work. This includes learning how the [our] own cultural/ethical/racial/religious identity impacts [our] own values and beliefs about the counseling process" (Principle 1-E-2; italics mine). Having a reaction to the racism described by Sol is not unexpected. Indeed, the author of this article found himself experiencing anger about this racism. Thus, the counselor must check his or her own response to the incidents of racism that Sol observed. The counselor's level of racial identity may moderate this response. A counselor who functions predominantly from a Contact status may experience such reactions as denial (e.g., "Well, I doubt that it really happened that way" or "Why is Sol so upset about this?"), or some discomfort that may lead to avoidance of the issues. This counselor will not likely form a strong working alliance, and Sol probably will drop out of treatment prematurely. It might further be pointed out that this counselor runs the risk of unethical behavior and should seek counseling and supervision for herself or himself.

For a counselor who is in the process of defining himself or herself as nonracist, a reasonable first response, upon hearing Sol's descriptions of the events, may be anger directed toward the people perpetuating the racism. The counselor must be aware of this anger and not let it interfere with the counseling process. It could interfere with the counseling process by limiting the counselor's ability to empathize with the client. Anger may serve as a blinder, interfering with one's ability to see through Sol's eyes. We must remember that Sol is the client, not Mr. X.

In order to overcome the initial anger, the counselor needs to develop an empathic understanding of the client and his experiences. Through this empathy, the counselor will be able to step back and begin applying his or her knowledge of theory to this particular case. That is, the counselor may begin assessing Sol's complaints from the perspective of the White Racial Identity Model (Helms, 1995).

Client and Counselor Interactions

When working with a client, it is important that the counselor be at a more advanced level of cultural self-awareness than the client, so he or she is able to understand and expect the attitudinal, emotional, and behavioral reactions the client may bring to counseling. This also will enable the counselor to know what questions to ask and what interventions are appropriate. In the present case, this means that the counselor must be at a more advanced status of his or her White racial identity than Sol. From the previous assessment, it appears that Sol's white status identity is Immersion/Emersion. The counselor working with this client therefore needs to have a complex understanding of racism and may be able to help the client understand his reactions and feelings. The counselor, then, needs to be functioning autonomously with respect to her or his White racial identity. Pack-Brown (1999) described characteristics of White counseling students who exhibit an autonomous White identity. This counselor will have a desire to "gather accurate information about racially different clients by interacting with positive and natural support systems within the communities of the clients [they] may serve" (p. 90).

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The intent of this article has been to provide an example of how a counselor may use a model of white racial awareness to conceptualize a case of indirect racism. Specifically, the author outlined two models of White racial identity development and consciousness, and used one of these (the White Racial Consciousness Model; Rowe et al., 1994) to conceptualize the case of a White client (Sol) who presented with strong feelings related to his friend's experiences with racism. It should be noted that the information provided in this article is only one example of how one might conceptualize the case with Sol. It is hoped, however, that this may stimulate further thought and discussion about how White racial identity or consciousness theories can be applied in counseling settings.

Knowledge about racial identity is only a beginning step in a complex process. Counselors must be able to apply that knowledge to difficult cases in assessment, conceptualization, and treatment strategies. For those counselors who are inexperienced in this process, it is recommended that they seek additional training and supervision.

As the United States becomes more aware of diversity, counselors will need to be better prepared for working with clients from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Counselors will continue to encounter clients who present with issues of racism and discrimination, either directly or indirectly. Knowledge of how racial identity interacts with clients' experiences is crucial, as is the counselor's awareness of her or his own racial identity.

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Jeffrey A. Daniels, Ph.D., is an associate professor, Department of Psychology, Central Washington University. Ellensburg, WA. Email: [e-mail]