African American Experiences of Race Relations in the Supervision Dyad

Abstract

Thank you God! Thank you God for the opportunity to shine and to successfully reach a major milestone in my personal and professional life. Thank you God that the doctoral journey is finally over. I also thank you God for bringing champions into my life that have supported me along the way. I'd like to acknowledge those champions. First, my husband, Joe "stud" Johnson. You are my friend and my partner. You truly inspire me. Your sense of humor, smile, encouragement, tough love when I want to slack off, understanding, and affection has helped me to reach my goals. I love you and I feel privileged that I get to experience this life with you. Gammy and Aunt Cherry, you are the wise women who have listened to me ramble on and on about all things graduate school. Thank you for being my cheerleaders and for being genuinely interested in my world. To my sister, Ashlee who reminds me that I have a job to do. My biggest priority is being a big sister that you can be proud of. I live each day with you in mind. Thank you so much for loving me, believing in me, encouraging me, and reminding me that I have something to offer this world. My youngest sisters, Kyema, Trenae, India and all of my godsiblings. Don't you ever forget that you are special and brilliant. Your intellect, talents, gifts, and passions will ultimately make this world a better place. Everyone knows that I do this work for all of the young woman and men who are hungry for a little encouragement. Know that when things got difficult for me, you were MY encouragement. Let's celebrate this victory together. iv to ever happen to the Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Department. Words can't express the depth of my gratitude. I'd also like to say thank you to those individuals at the Graduate College, particularly Linda Comrie and Tony Dennis that are the nicest most genuine Broncos at WMU. Too often your support goes unrecognized. Finally, I dedicate this accomplishment to my mother-Shawn Diane Pritchett, GodMother -Yvette Morgan, grandfather-Juston "Jerry" Threets, and uncle-Scott Derek Pritchett. Please know that while you rest in the heavens above I rejoice in the fact that I was blessed to know you in the first place. Your spirit lives on in me and in all that I do. Thank you so much for impacting my life in such a magnificent way. Through me, others will know just how phenomenal you were and are.

What’s Next? On Better Supporting Women of Color Clinicians in University Counseling Centers

“…The participants also reported taking on the role as mentors in addition to being a clinical supervisor and noted that in their supervision meetings, they discussed race more often with their Black supervisees than with other supervisees (Goode-Cross, 2011). These findings are further supported by a qualitative study that investigated the lived experiences of ten Black counselors’ experiences as both supervisees and supervisors, working mostly in UCCs, that found that Black supervisees felt more comfortable, supported, understood, and engaged with a Black supervisor (Pritchett-Johnson, 2011).…”

“…In addition, White supervisors should not be afraid to support their supervisees of color in exploring how their own identities may impact their work with clients and how to advocate for oneself in a predominantly White field (Ancis & Marshall, 2010; Jang et al, 2020). Above all, White supervisors should engage in these conversations with respect, genuineness, and humility, as Pritchett-Johnson (2011) found that Black supervisees reported hypervigilance to their White supervisors’ non-verbal communication and subtle utterances that provide insight into their supervisors’ multicultural awareness. Specifically, White supervisors are responsible for initiating and engaging their supervisees in conversations regarding culture and systems of oppression as it relates to the supervisor’s experiences, the supervisee’s experiences, and the client’s experiences (Ancis & Marshall, 2010; Chan et al, 2015; C.…”

“…In a qualitative study examining cross-cultural supervision between White supervisors and supervisees of color, 8 of 10 participants reported experiencing microaggressions from their supervisors, resulting in feelings of being misunderstood and of mistrust toward their White supervisor (Jang et al, 2020). In addition, Black counselors reflecting on their time as supervisees with White supervisors reported that their White supervisors were often harsher when conceptualizing Black clients than White clients in their supervision meetings (Pritchett-Johnson, 2011). Experiences such as these lead to a decrease in the supervisees’ willingness to want to reach out to, engage with, and receive supervision from their White supervisors, which consequently fosters an unsupportive relationship (Pritchett-Johnson, 2011).…”

“…In addition, Black counselors reflecting on their time as supervisees with White supervisors reported that their White supervisors were often harsher when conceptualizing Black clients than White clients in their supervision meetings (Pritchett-Johnson, 2011). Experiences such as these lead to a decrease in the supervisees’ willingness to want to reach out to, engage with, and receive supervision from their White supervisors, which consequently fosters an unsupportive relationship (Pritchett-Johnson, 2011). However, we must question how White supervisors can support a positive relationship between them and their supervisees of color, as research highlights some of the discrimination that supervisees of color experience may negatively impact their working relationship, which may also impact the workplace environment (Jang et al, 2020; Pritchett-Johnson, 2011).…”