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The effects of working alliance and client-clinician ethnic match on recovery status
Puihan J Chao1, John J Steffen, Elaine M Heiby
1Department of Psychology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI 96822-2294, USA. joycecha@hawaii.edu
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.
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