Racism in counseling and psychotherapy: Illuminate and disarm.

For the first time in its 130-year history, the American Psychological Association formally admitted to its ugly racist past and acknowledged how White supremacy continues to pervade the profession. Although the apology spans the entire field of psychology, the primary focus of this article is on how the profession of counseling and psychotherapy has reinforced and contributed to the oppression of people of color. First, we contend that psychology mirrors cultural racism/White supremacy and represents the major framework from which psychologists and other social scientists with power and privilege located the source of problems within people of color, their family values/structures, and their communities. Second, we maintain that the concept of professionalism has resulted in four legitimizing pillars of counseling and psychotherapy in which polarities are created that value universalism over relativism, individualism over collectivism, objectivism over subjectivism, and empiricism over experientialism. These four foundations of a White epistemology channel and subsidize racism by equating racial/cultural differences with pathology; promoting color and power blindness; blaming the victim; dehumanization and objectification; and denial of different racial realities. Last, we offer solutions for dismantling racism in counseling and psychotherapy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Disarming racial microaggressions: Microintervention strategies for targets, White allies, and bystanders.

Given the immense harm inflicted on individuals and groups of color via prejudice and discrimination, it becomes imperative for our nation to begin the process of disrupting, dismantling, and disarming the constant onslaught of micro- and macroaggressions. For too long, acceptance, silence, passivity, and inaction have been the predominant, albeit ineffective, strategies for coping with microaggressions. Inaction does nothing but support and proliferate biased perpetrator behaviors which occur at individual, institutional and societal levels. This article introduces a new strategic framework developed for addressing microaggressions that moves beyond coping and survival to concrete action steps and dialogues that targets, allies, and bystanders can perform (microinterventions). A review of responses to racist acts, suggest that microaggression reactions/interventions may be primarily to (a) remain passive, retreat, or give up; (b) strike back or hurt the aggressor; (c) stop, diminish, deflect, or put an end to the harmful act; (d) educate the perpetrator; (e) validate and support the targets; (f) act as an ally; (g) seek social support; (h) enlist outside authority or institutional intervention; or (h) achieve any combination of these objectives. We organize these responses into four major strategic goals of microinterventions: (a) make the invisible visible, (b) disarm the microaggression, (c) educate the perpetrator, and (d) seek external reinforcement or support. The objectives and rationale for each goal are discussed, along with specific microintervention tactics to employ and examples of how they are executed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Race talk: the psychology of racial dialogues.

Constructive dialogues on race have been proposed as a means to heal racial and ethnic divides, reduce prejudice and misinformation, increase racial literacy, and foster improved race relations. Studies on the psychology of racial dialogues indicate social and academic norms that dictate against race talk between White Americans and persons of color: (a) the politeness protocol, (b) the academic protocol, and (c) the color-blind protocol. These protocols discourage race talk and allow society to enter into a conspiracy of silence regarding the detrimental impact oppression plays on persons of color. Facilitating difficult dialogues on race requires educators to recognize what makes such discussions difficult. For people of color, engaging in race talk exposes them to microaggressions that invalidate and assail their racial/ethnic identities. For Whites, honest discussions are impeded by fears of appearing racist, of realizing their racism, of acknowledging White privilege, and of taking responsibility to combat racism.

Racial microaggressions and daily well-being among Asian Americans.

Although epidemiological studies and community surveys of Asian Americans have found that lifetime occurrences of racial discrimination are associated with increased risk for psychological morbidity, little is known about how exposure to racial discrimination is patterned in everyday life. Extrapolating from previous qualitative research (Sue, Bucceri, Lin, Nadal, & Torino, 2007), this study presents data on the prevalence and psychological correlates of everyday racial microaggressions that reflect the Asian American experience. Measures of positive affect, negative affect, somatic symptoms, and racial microaggressions were completed by 152 Asian Americans each day for up to 14 consecutive days. Approximately 78% of participants reported some form of racial microaggression within the 2-week study period. Multilevel analyses indicated that elevations in daily microaggressions, as well as greater microaggressions on average, predicted increases in somatic symptoms and negative affect. Implications of these findings for racial microaggression research and clinical practice are discussed.

Racial dialogues: challenges faculty of color face in the classroom.

Research on the experiences of faculty of color in predominantly White institutions (PWIs) suggests that they often experience the campus climate as invalidating, alienating, and hostile. Few studies, however, have actually focused on the classroom experiences of faculty of color when difficult racial dialogues occur. Using Consensually Qualitative Research, eight faculty of color were interviewed about their experiences in the classroom when racially tinged topics arose. Three major findings emerged. First, difficult racial dialogues were frequently instigated by the presence of racial microaggressions delivered toward students of color or the professor. Dialogues on race were made more difficult when the classrooms were diverse, when heated emotions arose, when there was a strong fear of self-disclosure, and when racial perspectives differed. Second, all faculty experienced an internal struggle between balancing their own values and beliefs with an attempt to remain objective. This conflict was often described as exhausting and energy-depleting. Third, faculty of color described both successful and unsuccessful strategies in facilitating difficult dialogues on race that arose in the course of their teaching. These findings have major implications for how PWIs can develop new programs, policies, and practices that will aid and support colleagues of color.

Racial dialogues and White trainee fears: Implications for education and training.

To assist educators in detecting the occurrence, understanding the dynamics, and effectively facilitating a difficult dialogue on race, we conducted a qualitative study to systematically examine the perceptions, interpretations, and reactions of 14 White trainees in counseling psychology graduate classes. In our focus groups, we identified 3 major domains: (a) global perspectives associated with race and racial dialogue, (b) specific reactions to racial disclosures, and (c) classroom strategies or conditions that proved helpful and unhelpful in facilitating dialogues. Participants appeared to have difficulty understanding how and why difficult dialogues on race occur. In addition, preexisting attitudes/beliefs/feelings seemed to serve as major barriers to discussing race honestly and openly. They reported powerful feelings of anxiety, helplessness, and fear of being misunderstood that evoked defensive maneuvers to avoid race topics. Implications for education and training are discussed.

Racial microaggressions and difficult dialogues on race in the classroom.

A qualitative study supports the observation that difficult dialogues on race and racism are often triggered by racial microaggressions that make their appearance in classroom encounters or educational activities and materials. Difficult dialogues are filled with strong powerful emotions that may prove problematic to both students and teachers. When poorly handled by teachers, difficult dialogues can assail the personal integrity of students of color while reinforcing biased worldviews of White students. The success or failure of facilitating difficult dialogues on race is intimately linked to the characteristics and actions of instructors and their ability to recognize racial microaggressions. Implications regarding specific education and training recommendations are presented.

Racial microaggressions in everyday life: implications for clinical practice.

Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color. Perpetrators of microaggressions are often unaware that they engage in such communications when they interact with racial/ethnic minorities. A taxonomy of racial microaggressions in everyday life was created through a review of the social psychological literature on aversive racism, from formulations regarding the manifestation and impact of everyday racism, and from reading numerous personal narratives of counselors (both White and those of color) on their racial/cultural awakening. Microaggressions seem to appear in three forms: microassault, microinsult, and microinvalidation. Almost all interracial encounters are prone to microaggressions; this article uses the White counselor--client of color counseling dyad to illustrate how they impair the development of a therapeutic alliance. Suggestions regarding education and training and research in the helping professions are discussed.

Racial microaggressions and the Asian American experience.

Racial microaggressions were examined through a focus group analysis of 10 self-identified Asian American participants using a semistructured interview and brief demographic questionnaire. Results identified 8 major microaggressive themes directed toward this group: (a) alien in own land, (b) ascription of intelligence, (c) exoticization of Asian women, (d) invalidation of interethnic differences, (e) denial of racial reality, (f) pathologizing cultural values/communication styles, (g) second class citizenship, and (h) invisibility. A ninth category, "undeveloped incidents/responses" was used to categorize microaggressions that were mentioned by only a few members. There were strong indications that the types of subtle racism directed at Asian Americans may be qualitatively and quantitatively different from other marginalized groups. Implications are discussed.

Introduction: a report on the National Multicultural Conference and Summit II.

Multiculturalism, in its broadest terms, not only is defined by race and ethnicity but also involves topics of gender, sexual orientation, and disability. Underlying this notion is the assumption that there is no one way to conceptualize human behavior, no one theory that explains the realities and experiences of various forms of diversity, and no particular set of competencies that have been proven to be effective with every form of diversity. Yet, it is possible to seek and provide information that can move psychologists and other social scientists forward in the search for multicultural awareness, respect, and competence. The 2nd National Multicultural Conference and Summit, held in January 2001 in Santa Barbara, California, was designed to promote knowledge about multiculturalism in these broad terms. This introduction to the special section is designed to (a) provide an overview of the proceedings of the Summit, (b) identify themes that emerged throughout the Summit with a special focus on the major keynote addresses, and (c) recommend future directions for education, training, practice, and research in multicultural psychology.