The Embodied Experience of Microaggressions: Implications for Clinical Practice

Abstract

Ongoing scholarship in multicultural counseling practice has established the significance of microaggressions in the lived experience of clients and in the client–counselor dyad. Grounded in new research into the embodied experience of oppression, this article reviews key concepts in nonverbal communication and traumatology to illustrate how the body is implicated in the transmission of microaggressions and how counselors can become more attentive, informed, and responsive to how social power differences manifest in the body. Las investigaciones actuales sobre la práctica de la consejería multicultural han establecido la importancia de las microagresiones en la experiencia vital de los clientes y en la díada cliente–consejero. Fundamentado en nuevas investigaciones sobre la experiencia corporal de la opresión, este artículo revisa conceptos clave de la comunicación no verbal y la traumatología para ilustrar cómo el cuerpo está involucrado en la transmisión de microagresiones y cómo los consejeros pueden tornarse más atentos, informados y sensibles a cómo las diferencias de poder social se manifiestan en el cuerpo.

Embodied Social Justice Learning: Considerations for Curriculum Development and Training in Counseling Programs

“…In a qualitative investigation, Johnson and colleagues (2018) found that experiences of oppression, such as microaggressions, uniquely impact the way people feel and express themselves in their bodies. Because so much of how oppression is communicated is non-verbal (Johnson, 2014) or reflective of subtle slights as is the case with microaggressions (Johnson et al, 2018), it is increasingly important that social justice curriculum in counseling programs attend to embodiments. By learning to become aware of and communicate about personal and interpersonal intellectual-and body-based experiences, trainees are required to not only understand domain concepts but also be able to discuss and feel them in the context of their (and others') dayto-day lived experiences as manifested in the body.…”

“…Readings and other course content to facilitate ESJL awareness should intentionally include a normative focus on one's experience of the body as a source of knowledge. The body as a source of knowledge may lend to deepened trainee insights (Johnson et al, 2018) regarding awareness of their (and others') social location, and experiences of power, oppression, and privilege.…”

Focusing the Lens to See More Clearly: Overcoming Definitional Challenges and Identifying New Directions in Racial Microaggressions Research

“…Torino et al (2018) offered microaggressions such as making a "scoffing" noise or rolling one's eyes in response to a discussion of sexism or racism as examples of a nonverbal mode of delivery. Johnson et al (2018) emphasized the importance of understanding nonverbal communication in the context of racial microaggressions because they can be used to "modify or underscore a verbal message" or "replace or contradict verbal communication" (p. 158). It may therefore be useful to identify how this dimension interacts with target and perpetrator taxonomy dimensions.…”

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

“…Sue et al (2007) expanded the targets of microaggressions to include all persons of color who are often left to second‐guess whether an interaction is, in fact, a microaggression. Johnson, Leighton, and Caldwell (2018) suggested that microaggressions—as chronic stressors—are a form of persistent trauma. Their research described how racial nonverbal microaggressions affected embodiment, or connectedness to one’s body, for participants from diverse racial, ethnic, and gender expression backgrounds.…”