Racial Microaggressions Against African American Clients in Cross-Racial Counseling Relationships

This study examined the relationships among African American clients' perceptions of their White counselors with respect to (a) perceived racial microaggressions in cross-racial counseling relationships, (b) the counseling working alliance, (c) their counselors' general and multicultural counseling competence, and (d) their counseling satisfaction. Findings revealed that greater perceived racial microaggressions by African American clients were predictive of a weaker therapeutic alliance with White therapists, which, in turn, predicted lower ratings of general and multicultural counseling competence. Greater perceived racial microaggressions also were predictive of lower counseling satisfaction ratings. In addition, African American clients' perceptions of racial microaggressions had a significant indirect effect on these clients' ratings of White counselors' general and multicultural counseling competence through the therapeutic working alliance.