Table 3.

Themes and subthemes expressed by parents with race concordance preference and those who deemed race concordance as not as important

Master theme	Subtheme	Sentiments expressed by parents with race concordance preference	Sentiments expressed by parents who deem race concordance is not as important
Aspects related to the patient care experience	Comfort vs. fear of judgment	Comfortable sharing experiences with providers of the same race and ethnicity Easier to build rapport and close relationship with race-concordant therapist	Appreciation for caring demeanor and lack of judgment from race-discordant therapist
	Support	Verbal and nonverbal cues from race-concordant providers show that they recognize societal underpinnings of racism	Underscored importance of race-discordant providers’ accessibility, open-mindedness, presence, and active listening skills
	Celebration and validation*	Appreciate providers’ ability to understand and accept patients’ racial and ethnic background Motivated to participate and engage in therapy sessions when provider affirms patients’ identities and validates their experiences
Cultural humility		Challenges associated with amplifying Black voices and perspectives with race-discordant providers	Important for race-discordant providers to demonstrate awareness, or willingness to self-educate themselves, about systemic issues plaguing the Black community
Relatability**		Importance of having a support system with a common ground of understanding that resembles patient to serve as a protective factor against harmful messages from society
Diversity in cultural experiences		Race-discordant providers tend to lack understanding of patients’ needs and have difficult time understanding systemic issues regarding racism and implicit bias	Important to have equal representation of races and cultures in therapeutic spaces Opportunity to learn and gain an additional perspective
Role model for children*		Therapists have ability to promote child’s mental health and well-being Crucial contributors to child’s sense of pride and confidence in their identity
Intersecting identities***			Patient-provider concordance in other identities, such as gender and parental status considered equally important

^* indicates themes and sentiments commonly discussed among parents with race concordance preference and those who deem that race concordance is not as important

^** indicates theme highlighted among only parents with race concordance preference

^*** indicates theme highlighted among only parents who deem that race concordance is not as important