Addressing race, microaggressions, and systemic racism is a difficult conversation to have. The conversation becomes even more delicate when the power dynamics between a counselor and client come into play. There has been a lot of recent research on broaching race in the counseling room. Looking into some of these studies can help counselors feel better equipped to address difficult topics with their clients.
Race
Modern science and research acknowledges that race is just a political tool for society to separate and group individuals under broad definitions. Braveman & Dominguez (2017) explore the concepts of race and ethnicity in their research and find that race is merely a political and social construct. They note that census categories over the years changed the qualifiers for each “race” checkbox in order to better cater to political agendas. Braveman and Dominguez assert that ethnicity tells us much more vital information about an individual than the classification of race does. Ethnicity involves cultural values, traditions, and norms, while race is a changing umbrella term for multiple ethnicities.
When approaching issues of racism, we need to remember that social constructs and our history of racism lead us to accept race as a fact instead of questioning the political agendas that shaped how we see race.
Racial Microaggressions
Another important step to broaching race in the counseling session is understanding racial microaggressions. Understanding racial microaggressions and their underlying messages can help us feel more confident identifying them in conversation. While racial microaggressions can seem common, unconscious, or unimportant, the messages they send are deeply hurtful and should be addressed. Below is a table from an article by Capodilupo, et al. (2007) that gives themes, examples, and underlying messages for common racial microaggressions.
Systemic Racism
Counselors have ethical obligations under the American Counseling Associations Code of Ethics to advocate for our clients on a micro and macro level. This involves addressing client’s personal issues (micro) as well as the systems and policies that oppress our clients (macro). Systemic racism is an underlying thread in many policies in the United States. This means that counselors are guaranteed to have clients who are currently experiencing oppression under one or more of these racist policies. As counselors, we are required to not only understand the existence and implications of systemic racism, but to advocate for our clients by speaking out against and voting against these policies.
Broaching Race in the Therapy Room
Broaching race in the therapy room sounds like a complicated political conversation, but it really begins when you introduce yourself. Introducing your salient identities when you introduce yourself to a new client is an easy way to broach race. For example, broaching an ethnic identity that is important to you can help your client understand who you are and how your identities might be similar or different.
Another way to broach race is to address it as it comes up in conversation. This way the conversation flows naturally and the client can know that race is not an off-limits topic within your therapeutic relationship. Having open discussions about race and racism helps eliminate the taboo around it and invites clients to explore all of their identity without feeling fear of judgment. Broaching is not about confrontation, but bringing you and your client closer together through the discussion of difficult experiences and important identities.
Below are some examples of what broaching can look like for different counselors.
Resources
Braveman, P., & Parker Dominguez, T. (2021). Abandon “race.” Focus on racism. Frontiers in public health, 9, 689462. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.689462
Dominique White. (2022, April 6). Broaching session (english). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJiFTzIgyDk
Norma Day-Vines: Strategies for broaching issues of race, ethnicity, and culture. (2022, June 30). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdoVrYatDp0
Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A. M., Nadal, K. L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: implications for clinical practice. The American psychologist, 62(4), 271–286. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.4.271
The Sentio Channel. (2022, December 22). Deliberate practice for multicultural therapy demonstration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WbGq57smpA
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