The development and initial validation of a client-rated measure of therapist cultural comfort (the Therapist Cultural Comfort Scale [TCCS]) is reported. The first phase of the study involved content validation of the initial pool of items via consultation with (a) focus groups of doctoral student therapists and (b) experts in the field of multicultural counseling and psychotherapy. A 56-item pool generated during this phase, together with instruments used to gauge convergent and incremental validity, were administered to a community adult sample of current psychotherapy clients (N ϭ 889). Exploratory factor analysis suggested 2 subscales representing negative and positive indicators of therapist cultural comfort. Item response theory principles guided final selection of subscale items. Analyses suggested good factor stability and reliability of the 13-item TCCS as well as strong measurement invariance across racial/ ethnic minority status and gender. Total and subscale scores related as expected with other measures of multicultural constructs (cultural humility, missed cultural opportunities, and multicultural competencies). Generally, TCCS total and subscale scores also predicted working alliance and treatment progress above and beyond the effects of therapist general comfort. There were few differences in clients' perceptions of therapist cultural comfort based on client demographic characteristics. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Public Significance StatementThis study reports the development of the Therapist Cultural Comfort Scale, a new scale designed to measure clients' perceptions of their therapist's cultural comfort during session. Additionally, this study highlights the role of cultural comfort in effective psychotherapy.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the experiences of professional school counselors participating in a play therapy workshop as an introduction to child-centered play therapy (CCPT). Constructivism led this qualitative study to describe six professional school-counselor participants' perceptions of CCPT and their experiences in attending the play therapy workshop. This article presents a development of the workshop for professional school counselors, findings of this qualitative study, and discussion about implications for practice and research.

The authors describe the “working bond” aspect of Bordin’s conceptualization of the working alliance. Within the working alliance, the bond refers to an emotional attachment formed and maintained between client/patient and therapist. This bond reflects the feelings and attitudes that client/patient and therapist have toward each other and enables the therapeutic work through a sense of collaboration and trust. First, the authors discuss the defining features of the bond. Then they identify various skills and facilitative attitudes that can foster the bond, such as empathy, unconditional positive regard, and genuineness. Finally, they discuss how the working bond and possible ruptures will manifest at various stages in the treatment, from building the initial bond to working through termination.

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