Lisa’s Interactions with Wendy
Sue and Sue (2013) describe microagressions as subtle and denigrating messages, verbal, behavioral or environmental, that are received by individuals of marginalized groups. After reviewing the interaction between Wendy, the client, and her counselor Lisa, there were a few incidents of microagression that are identifiable. One incident that occurred is when Lisa, the therapist, expresses to Wendy, the client, that she believes Wendy is incredibly smart and able to still do well under stressful circumstances. According to Nadal, Griffin, Wong, Hamit, and Rasmus (2014), this type of microagression is called the Ascription of Intelligence, one of many themes that highlight racial microagressions perpetrated against
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I eventually found a counselor who was White, middle aged, and a woman. During the intake process, I was describing my frustration with being made to feel as if my thoughts, beliefs and opinions represented the entire Black/African American population. The counseling session eventually turned into me answering her questions about Black culture. After that initial session, I never went back to see her because I was placed in the same situation during my counseling session. If placed in a similar situation during another counseling session, I would stop the session and express how this does not assist with developing a safe and positive client-counselor working alliance. I would also encourage that they seek out supervision and/or consultation about what is means to be culturally competent counselor and to assess their understanding of microagressions. I can also say that I would be frustrated by the experience, but I would be less likely to hold onto that experience as a representation of who I am as a person versus who they are as a professional