Racial microaggressions in cross-cultural supervision

Section A
A systemic review of research exploring ethno-racial minorities’ experiences of racial microaggressions in cross-cultural and cross-racial supervision. Thirteen studies were identified from the systematic search. Using a meta-ethnographic approach, findings were integrated to identify six categories relevant to experiences of microaggressions in supervision. The review highlights the significant impact that microaggressions have on the recipient and how individuals cope with this. Microaggressions also had a negative impact on the supervisory relationship, supervision and ethno-racial minority clients’ experiences. A critical evaluation of the studies is discussed, and the clinical and research implications are considered.

Section B
An empirical study exploring Black psychologists’ experiences of microaggressions in supervision with a White supervisor, and their impact. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 clinical or counselling psychologists and analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Three superordinate themes and 12 subthemes capturing participants’ experiences were derived from the analysis. The superordinate themes are: ‘It’s the subtle things’, ‘It’s an ordeal’ and ‘Surviving Whiteness in psychology’. The results indicate that recurring microaggressions arise in supervision, with deleterious effects for recipients. Findings are discussed in the context of existing literature. Clinical implications, directions for future research and limitations of the study are also considered.