A Phenomenological Inquiry Into Counselor of Color Broaching Experiences

Abstract

Broaching, or the acknowledgment of racial and cultural factors, is a strategy for counselors working with diverse client populations. In this phenomenological study, the authors explored the lived experiences of 8 professional counselors of color regarding their broaching behaviors. The authors present 4 resulting themes (intentionality, considering impacts on client experiences, influence of counselor's discomfort on broaching, and broaching skills and practices) and discuss implications for counselor practice and training.

Carrying the Burden: Counselors of Color’s Experiences of Microaggressions in Counseling

“…Furthermore, increased multiculturalism represented by faculty members has not translated to more equitable training for students of color given systemic issues such as the use of White hegemonic pedagogy within counselor education (Haskins & Singh, 2015; West‐Olatunji, Yang, Wolfgang, Henesy, & Yoon, 2017). Because of these systemic influences, it is not surprising that evidence suggests counselors of color, compared with White counselors, experience unique challenges in a broad range of roles, including as counselor educators (Shillingford, Trice‐Black, & Butler, 2013), students (Haskins et al, 2013; Seward, 2014), supervisees (Haskins, Phelps, & Crowell, 2015), and practicing counselors (Bayne & Branco, 2018). One specific challenge unique to counselors of color is how to navigate dynamics of race and privilege in the counseling relationship when working with White clients (Bayne & Branco, 2018; L. E. Davis & Gelsomino, 1994).…”

“…Because of these systemic influences, it is not surprising that evidence suggests counselors of color, compared with White counselors, experience unique challenges in a broad range of roles, including as counselor educators (Shillingford, Trice‐Black, & Butler, 2013), students (Haskins et al, 2013; Seward, 2014), supervisees (Haskins, Phelps, & Crowell, 2015), and practicing counselors (Bayne & Branco, 2018). One specific challenge unique to counselors of color is how to navigate dynamics of race and privilege in the counseling relationship when working with White clients (Bayne & Branco, 2018; L. E. Davis & Gelsomino, 1994). As a result, counselors of color may continue to be differentially affected not only in counselor preparation and supervision but also in their experience within clinical counseling settings.…”

“…Zhang and Burkard (2008) described beneficial effects to the counseling relationship when White counselors address issues of race and ethnicity with clients of color; however, the benefits were not similarly noted when counselors of color addressed race and ethnicity with White clients. In fact, Bayne and Branco (2018) found that counselors of color often perceived direct broaching of issues of race and ethnicity with White clients as potentially harmful to the relationship. Other research has noted the risks to counselors of color, such as displaced aggression (Kadushin, 1972), racism (L. E. Davis & Gelsomino, 1994), and stereotyping (Haskins et al, 2015) from White clients.…”

Predictors of Broaching: Multicultural Competence, Racial Color Blindness, and Interpersonal Communication

“…Clients of counselors who broached have also reported higher satisfaction, disclosed more, and were more likely to return for follow-up appointments (Knox et al, 2003;Zhang & Burkard, 2008). Yet, clinicians have expressed hesitation about broaching with the following emerged themes: (a) difficulty prioritizing and gauging the relevance of broaching (Bayne & Branco, 2018;Jones & Welfare, 2017), (b) opting for clients to raise cultural topics first (Maxie et al, 2006), and (c) counselors of color broaching more regularly compared to White counselors (Knox et al, 2003). For educators and supervisors to build counselor capacity to broach, it is necessary to study variations in counselor broaching and provide concrete depictions of broaching statements.…”

“…However, counseling professionals' affinity for culturally responsive counseling and strategies for enacting it in their work varies (S. Collins et al, 2015;Hill et al, 2013). Broaching, the act of initiating and responding to topics of cultural significance or power imbalance, is touted as a crucial skill and is also underused or dependent on the counselor's own belief about its relevance (Bayne & Branco, 2018;Day-Vines et al, 2007;King & Borders, 2019). In this study, we evaluated the role of self-reported multicultural counseling competence, racial color-blind attitudes, and interpersonal communication competence, as well as demographics and training histories, in predicting broaching skills in order to strengthen training and practice.…”