Page 288 - Microaggressions in Everyday Live Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

262 microaggressive impact on mental health practice

Table 12.1 Examples of Racial, Gender, and Sexual-Orientation Microaggressions
in Therapeutic Practice
THEMES MICROAGGRESSION MESSAGE

Alien in One’s Own Land A White client does not You are not American.
When Asian Americans and want to work with an Asian
Latino Americans are assumed American therapist because
to be foreign-born she “will not understand my
problem.”
A White therapist tells an
American-born Latino client
that he or she should seek a
Spanish-speaking therapist.
Ascription of Intelligence A school counselor reacts All Asians are smart
Assigning a degree of with surprise when an and good at math.
intelligence to a person of Asian American student
color or woman based on has trouble on the math
their race or gender portion of a standardized
test.
A career counselor asks It is unusual for people
a Black or Latino student of color to succeed.
“Do you think you’re ready
for college?”
A school counselor reacts It is unusual for women
with surprise that a female to be smart and good
student scored high in math.
on a math portion of a
standardized test.
Color Blindness A therapist says “I Race and culture are
Statements that indicate think you are being too not important variables
that a White person does paranoid. We should that affect people’s
not want to acknowledge emphasize similarities, not lives.
race people’s differences” when
a client of color attempts to
discuss her feelings about
being the only person of
color at her job and feeling
alienated and dismissed by
her coworkers.
A client of color expresses Your racial experiences
concern in discussing racial are not valid.
issues with her therapist. Her
therapist replies, “When I
see you, I don’t see color.”

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