We utilize an additive intersectionality framework in the present study to examine the relations among perceived racism, sexism, and heterosexism and the psychological distress of self-identified sexual minority women of color. Participants (N = 134) aged 19 to 75 recruited through electronic mailing lists, discussion groups, and virtual communities aimed toward sexual minority women of color completed online surveys. When each form of discrimination was examined in a single multiple regression analysis, only perceived heterosexism explained significant and positive variance in psychological distress. In addition, collective action was tested as a moderator of the effects of racism, sexism, and heterosexism on psychological distress; specifically, the potential attenuating roles of three forms of collective action (race and ethnicity, feminist, and sexual minority) in the respective racism → distress, sexism → distress, and heterosexism → distress links were investigated. Sexual minority collective action buffered the heterosexist experiences → psychological distress link. More specifically, in the context of lower collective action, perceived heterosexism positively predicted distress; however, perceived heterosexism did not predict psychological distress at higher levels of collective action. No other significant interaction effects were found. Our results suggest that discrimination experiences continue to be important to assess in research and practice with marginalized individuals. Also, encouraging clients to engage in collective action could represent a useful intervention tool for counselors.

Scholars have argued that much of the sexism literature has not acknowledged diversity among women, and they have called for more attention to the intersectionality of the multiple marginalized identities of sexual minority women of color (WOC) in particular. With a sample of 182 sexual minority WOC, we examined (a) the links between perceived lifetime and recent sexist events and psychological distress and (b) the potential moderating role in these relations of womanism (a perspective of feminism that recognizes the roles of both gender and race/ethnicity in the lives of WOC). Findings from our Internet survey indicated that lifetime and recent sexism were related significantly and positively to psychological distress. Womanism was also associated positively with both forms of sexism and psychological distress. In partial support of study hypotheses, womanism moderated the relationship between perceived lifetime sexist events, but not recent sexist events, and psychological distress. More specifically, the link between lifetime sexist events and psychological distress was significant and positive for sexual minority WOC with lower levels of womanism and not significant for those with higher levels of womanism. With regard to practice implications, assessing and exploring sexist events, placing these experiences in a larger sociocultural context of oppression, connecting with the legacy of social activism of marginalized groups, and encouraging supportive networks may diminish distress.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the applicability of the Critical Events Model to the psychotherapy supervisory process, with a focus on gender related events (GREs) experienced by counseling trainees. Four research questions framed the study: (1) What types of GREs do trainees experience in psychotherapy supervision? (2) How do supervisors attend to these GREs? (3) What is the relationship between the interventions that supervisors use and the resolution of the critical event? Finally, given the importance of the working alliance and the supervisor's multicultural competence, (4) What is the relationship between GREs, the supervisory working alliance, and supervisees' perceptions of their supervisors' multicultural competence as it relates to gender related events? A consensual qualitative research-modified (CQR-M) method was used to examine the qualitative data, highlighting four types of GREs reported by counseling trainees: Gender Discrimination, Gender Identity Interactions, Attraction, and Power Dynamics. While supervisors attended to GREs using various interventions, multiple linear regression analyses revealed that the most frequently used interventions (i.e., therapeutic process, exploration of feelings, focus on skills, and focus on self-efficacy) were significantly related to the resolution stage. GREs related to Gender Discrimination were significantly and negatively related to the supervisory working alliance and supervisees' perceptions of supervisors' gender-related multicultural competence.

The Multicultural Counseling and Psychotherapy Test (MCPT), a measure of multicultural counseling competence (MCC), was validated in 2 phases. In Phase 1, the authors administered 451 test items derived from multicultural guidelines in counseling and psychology to 32 multicultural experts and 30 nonexperts. In Phase 2, the authors administered the top 50 discriminative items to licensed mental health professionals (N = 227) and compared MCPT scores to external indicators of MCC. Evidence was found for the construct validity and internal consistency reliability of the MCPT. El Test de Consejería Multicultural y Psicoterapia (MCPT, por sus siglas en inglés), una medida de la competencia en consejería multicultural (MCC, por sus siglas en inglés) fue validado en dos fases. En la Fase 1, los autores administraron 451 elementos del test derivados de las pautas multiculturales en consejería y psicología a 32 expertos multiculturales y 30 no expertos. En la Fase 2, los autores administraron los 50 elementos más discriminativos a profesionales licenciados de la salud mental (N = 227) y compararon los puntajes del MCPT con indicadores externos de MCC. Se hallaron evidencias de la validez del constructo y la fiabilidad de la consistencia interna del MCPT.