ABSTRACT
In psychotherapy, the establishment of rapport, also known as the therapeutic alliance, is one of the first and most important tasks of the clinician and has long been identified as a common factor in positive clinical outcomes, regardless of treatment modality. Intersectionality, a concept introduced by Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989, expands the relevance of these factors by elucidating the critical roles that context, systems, and the cumulative convergence of demographic and other variables play in marginalized people’s lives. This chapter describes several significant life experiences that have informed aspects of the author's intersecting identities as an African American female. It demonstrates how the author used awareness, transparency, and intersecting identities to establish rapport and a positive therapeutic alliance, enhance the depth of the work, create a context of greater knowledge of self and other, and to promote a greater appreciation for shared and non-shared identities and their impact on individuals’ lived experiences.
