Page 286 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

260 microaggressive impact on mental health practice

realized only in moral relations to others (collectivity instead of individuality):
“ Consequently, application of an African - centered worldview will cause one to
question the need for objectivity absent emotions, the need for distance rather
than connectedness, and the need for dichotomous relationships rather than
multiple roles ” (p. 110).
The caseworker ’ s avoidance of giving advice and suggestions, perceiving
his role as a facilitator of self - exploration, and separating himself from Peter
might be viewed as inappropriate and a barrier to establishing a therapeutic
alliance. In other words, the African American perspective views the helping
relationship as bound together emotionally and spiritually. The European
American style of objectivity encourages separation that may be interpreted
by Peter as uninvolved, uncaring, insincere, and dishonest — that is, “ playing
silly games ” (Paniagua, 1998).

Racial Microaggression Number Five: Denial of Individual
Racism or Racial Biases

The belief that one is free of biases and somehow immune from inheriting
the racial, gender, and sexual-orientation prejudices of society has been chal-
lenged in many studies, scholarly analyses, and in guidelines and standards
developed by professional organizations (American Counseling Association,
1999; American Psychological Association, 2003; Biernat, 2003; Broverman &
Broverman, 1970; Dovidio & Gaertner, 1991, 1993, 2000; Greene, 2000;
Pope & Vasquez, 2005; Swim, Mallet, & Stangor, 2004). Earlier, we indicated
how microaggressive communications operate on two different levels, from
the explicit statement “ I ’ m not a racist, I have many Black friends ” to the met-
acommunication (hidden), “ I am immune to racism, so don ’ t blame me. ”
It is obvious the caseworker experiences himself as a good, moral, and fair -
minded human being who consciously wants to help an African American
client. At the beginning of the case narrative, he anticipates that working with
Peter will be a test of his unbiased nature. The intern ends by hoping that the
workshop training will “ help me better understand the Black personality. ”
Like most counselors, he views prejudice, discrimination, racism, and sexism
as overt and intentional acts of unfairness and violence; however, unintentional
and covert forms of bias may be the greater enemy in the therapeutic sessions
because they are unseen and more pervasive:

Unintentional behavior is perhaps the most insidious form of racism. Unintentional
racists are unaware of the harmful consequences of their behavior. They may be

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