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

Abstract

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.