In response to research in the last two decades which increasingly has pointed to a lack of congruence between traditional aspects of insight-oriented therapy and the social facts and realities of non-white and non-YAVIS populations, a number of mental-health professionals have championed a move to more behaviorally oriented modalities as more appropriate and potentially prescriptive for these clients. This article points out the weak empirical bases for such claims and questions the failure of behaviorally oriented researchers to systematically examine either the relative utility of behavior therapy with poor and minority clients or its actual congruence with their life-styles and experiences.The mental-health field has traditionally, and often unsuccessfully, attempted to transfer concepts and techniques developed with white, middle-class, "young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, and successful" (YAVIS) clients (Schofield, 1964) in toto to populations which differ ethnically, socially, culturally, or economically (Jones, 1974;Lorion, 1974;Sue & Sue, 1977). Such undifferentiated use of insight-oriented approaches to psychotherapy and counseling has been found to result in therapists rejecting non-white, non-YAVIS clients for treatment, and in a high rate of premature termination Requests for reprints should be sent to
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