Racial and Social Class Micro-Aggressions: Making/Invisible Visible/Clinical Practice

(1 Credit)

Micro-aggressions are everyday occurrences, which reflect a person’s internalized stereotypes and prejudices. These verbal and/or nonverbal interactions are often unconscious and unintentional, and are difficult to recognize because they are subtle and appear innocuous. Good well-meaning people frequently commit micro-aggressions. Social workers often bear witness to clients’experience of micro-aggressions that leave them feeling inferior, dismissed or devalued. But, what happens when practitioners are the ones committing the micro-aggressions? This course will focus on the self-of-the-practitioner and how their personal experiences and/or lack thereof may unconsciously inform the professional treatment of clients. While there are several types of micro-aggressions, this course will focus on micro-aggressions committed as a result of race and class. Through the use of videos, questionnaires/scales and experiential exercises, students will be provided with a safe venue in which they are encouraged to examine their own beliefs (in terms of race and class) and how they may manifest as micro-aggressions in the therapeutic relationships and/or treatment. The class will also examine the consequences of microaggressions on clients and how to engage in conversations with clients around these issues.