‘The relentless nature of whiteness’: Black psychologists' experiences of racial microaggressions in cross‐cultural supervision

Journal article

Ebubedike, N., Callanan, Margie and Oldershaw, Anna 2024. ‘The relentless nature of whiteness’: Black psychologists' experiences of racial microaggressions in cross‐cultural supervision. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy. 31 (3). https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.3011
AuthorsEbubedike, N., Callanan, Margie and Oldershaw, Anna
Abstract

Objectives
Research suggests that cross-cultural supervision can be prone to microaggressions with deleterious effects for ethno-racial minorities. There are currently no known studies examining the impact of racial microaggressions in supervision on qualified psychologists. This study aimed to explore Black psychologists' experiences of microaggressions in supervision with a White supervisor and their impact.

Methods
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 individuals who had completed clinical or counselling psychology doctoral training. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Results
Three superordinate themes and 12 subthemes were derived from the analysis. The superordinate themes were: ‘It's the subtle things’, ‘It's an ordeal’ and ‘Surviving Whiteness in psychology’. The findings illustrate the complex nature of racial microaggressions and their profound and lasting impact on individuals. The cumulative impact of these experiences resulted in significant negative psychological outcomes.

Conclusions
The results suggest that there are common microaggressions that recur in supervision. Encountering microaggressions impeded the supervisory relationship, supervision and professional development. Clinical implications include recommendations for including multicultural competency in psychology trainings and ongoing professional development plans.

Year2024
JournalClinical Psychology & Psychotherapy
Journal citation31 (3)
PublisherWiley
ISSN1063-3995
1099-0879
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.3011
Official URLhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cpp.3011
Publication dates
Online24 May 2024
Publication process dates
Accepted07 May 2024
Deposited07 Jun 2024
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
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