Doctoral Dissertations
Date of Award
8-2025
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Major
Psychology
Major Professor
Kirsten A. Gonzalez
Committee Members
Joe R. Miles, Erin E. Hardin, Shaneda L. Destine
Abstract
Little research has evaluated the efficacy of therapy for queer and/or trans Black people, Indigenous people, and other People of Color (QTBIPOC). Due to their unique experiences at the intersection of racism, heterosexism, and/or transphobia (see Crenshaw, 1989; Cyrus, 2017), therapy has been suggested as one of many possible ways for QTBIPOC individuals to receive mental health support (Sutter & Perrin, 2016). Although therapy has the potential to be beneficial for this group, QTBIPOC clients also indicate that therapy has the potential to cause further harm (Arora et al., 2022). While a client’s perspective can provide meaningful information about therapy experiences, a clinician's perspective can help label specific interventions that are utilized. Both perspectives are necessary to comprehensively understand effective processes of therapy and the therapeutic relationship. This study aimed to answer the following research questions: What are effective therapeutic practices and interventions, as perceived by QTBIPOC clients and their therapists? What factors, as perceived by both members of the therapeutic dyad, strengthen the relationship between QTBIPOC clients and their therapists? Participants were three client-therapist dyads with an established therapeutic relationship. Interviews were conducted separately with each member of the therapeutic dyad. Utilizing Levitt’s (2021) critical constructivist grounded theory, the following core category was identified: By leaning into authenticity, challenging existing frameworks, and collaborating, therapists can dismantle power dynamics and promote QTBIPOC healing. The five categories that comprise this core category are: 1) stability in therapy and the therapeutic relationship is fostered by approachability, 2) therapist authenticity is a powerful intervention to facilitate healing, connection, and hope in the face of systemic oppression, 3) therapy should be client-led, but not laborious, 4) holding the complexity and nuances of QTBIPOC experiences requires continual attention to systemic oppression, and 5) therapists must go beyond the therapy space to support the well-being of QTBIPOC individuals. The findings of this study provide important directions for supporting the well-being of QTBIPOC individuals by progressing existing research on therapist authenticity and informing ways to deconstruct systemic oppression in the therapy room. Practice and advocacy implications are discussed, along with suggestions for future directions.
Recommended Citation
Arora, Saumya, "“I'm Someone Who Makes Sense to My Therapist, Without Me Needing to Contort Myself”: A Therapeutic Dyad Study with QTBIPOC Clients and Their Therapists. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2025.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/12679