White Middle‐Class Privilege: Social Class Bias and Implications for Training and Practice

Abstract

social class, classism, and privilege and their relationship to counseling have been given insufficient attention. this article defines and explores White middle-class privilege; it proffers support for its integration in a multicultural competency, as well as its intersection with race and other dimensions of multiculturalism and privilege. implications for counseling practice plus a clinical case study illustrate the issues. la clase social, el clasismo y el privilegio, así como su relación con la consejería, no han sido tratados con suficiente atención. este artículo define y explora el privilegio de la clase media Blanca; sugiere apoyar su integración en una competencia multicultural, además de su intersección con la raza y otras dimensiones del multiculturalismo y el privilegio. las implicaciones para la práctica de la consejería más el estudio de un caso clínico ilustran estan cuestiones.

Changing the frame: queering access to higher education for trans* students

“…Guidance professionals were then called upon to provide 'double duty' -addressing students' personal and emotional well-being alongside their discernment of future possibilities. Importantly, professional norms within guidance counseling have been described as proliferating white privilege (Liu, Pickett, & Ivey, 2007), centering practices and modes of relating that heavily attribute authority and wisdom solely to adults with training and credentials. Conversely, counseling is most effective among students of color and those in low-income communities when it is one spoke in a wheel that includes robust community and family partnerships and recognizes multiple sources of knowledge and insight (Bryan & Henry, 2008).…”

Effective Psychotherapy With Low-income Clients: The Importance of Attending to Social Class

“…By allowing ample time for this storytelling to occur, therapists can help clients make sense of their experiences while incorporating new meanings that might include an understanding of systemic contributions to their life difficulties. A systemic view of social class can indirectly provide a path to construct different meanings about one’s socialized self, including aspirations and losses that may be linked to an upward mobility bias (Liu et al, 2007). …”

“…These include their assumptions of what constitutes ‘good therapy,’ as well as both negative stereotypes and idealizations of people who are poor, which can result in differential and inadequate treatment (Liu et al, 2007). L.…”

The subjective experience of social class and upward mobility among African American men in graduate school.

“…In terms of clinical implications, given that many factors can influence the therapeutic relationship (e.g., race and sexual orientation; Chang & Berk 2009; Mohr, Weiner, Chopp, & Wong, 2009; Townes, Chavez-Korell, & Cunningham, 2009), psychologists should remain mindful of the possible influence that social-class statuses can have within the therapeutic relationship (Liu, Pickett, & Ivey, 2007), how issues of acculturation may interact with notions of masculinity (Neblett, Hammond, Seaton, & Townsend, 2010; Obasi & Leong, 2009), and how best to frame therapeutic interventions (McKelley & Rochlen, 2010; Steinfeldt, Steinfeldt, England, & Speight, 2009; Wester, Arndt, Sedivy, & Arndt, 2010). For instance, is advice giving more effective for low income versus high-income clients (Liu et al, 2004)?…”