The Intersectionality of Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Social Class on the Therapeutic Alliance with Older Adult Clients

ABSTRACT The profession of social work has a long-standing history of considering the impact of social class on society and current social work training emphasizes the influence of intersectionality and differences in the identities of social workers and clients based on socioeconomic status, race, gender and age on the therapeutic alliance. Clinicians are encouraged to foster trust within the alliance through acknowledgment of differences and attunement to client experiences and client perceptions of oppression. Yet relatively little clinical literature has addressed the influence of clinicians’ socioeconomic status on the therapeutic alliance, or on the development of treatment plans and methods. The authors use two clinical case examples to explore these issues and how clinicians can effectively address them within the alliance.