Invisible Wounds: Testimony of Microaggressions From the Experiences of Clinicians of Color in Training

• Published in: Training and education in professional psychology 2024-11, Vol.18 (4), p.331-339
• Main Authors: González Vera, José Manuel, Domenech Rodríguez, Melanie M., Navarro Flores, Cynthia M., Vázquez, Alejandro L., San Miguel, Guadalupe G., Phan, Mary, Wong, Elizabeth Grace, Klimczak, Korena S., Bera, Jac'lyn, Papa, Lesther, Estrada, Juan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinicians; Ethnography; Female; Human; Intervention; Life Experiences; Male; Microaggression; People of Color; Training; Well Being
• ISSN: 1931-3918; 1931-3926
• DOI: 10.1037/tep0000489

Microaggressions are hurtful interpersonal interactions that pathologize minoritized identities and affect the well-being of people of color (POC) and can contribute to racial trauma. Research thus far has focused on college students and therapy clients. Little research has focused on the experiences of POC who are training as mental health service providers. In a collaborative autoethnography, 10 POC trainees shared their experiences of witnessing or experiencing microaggressions in various professional capacities (e.g., therapist, supervisee, consulting colleague). We identified four primary themes: (a) trainees experience a broad variety of microaggressions across Sue et al.'s (2007) typologies; (b) microaggressions impacted trainees' emotional well-being; (c) the impact of microaggressions was absorbed in the moment and supervisory support was obtained after; and (d) microaggressions represented opportunities for personal/professional growth and these came at a high cost. Results suggest that POC clinicians' experiences of microaggressions in a therapy context are ubiquitous and varied. Training programs should prepare all trainees and supervisors to recognize and address microaggressions in the therapy training context. Programs should consider policy and curricular updates that would increase effectiveness in addressing microaggressions. Public Significance Statement Clinicians of color report encountering various forms of derogatory insults that target marginalized identities in training. These microaggressions impact their well-being. We found that clinicians of color in training are frequently unsure about how to handle microaggressions when they arise. To support workforce diversity, training programs should understand the experiences of trainees of color and use them to inform program-wide training and policies to effectively address microaggressions that would benefit all trainees.