Latinx and Asian trainees counseling White clients: An interpretative phenomenology

Abstract

Using interpretative phenomenology analysis, this study explored the lived experiences of eight Latinx and Asian trainees. Four superordinate themes were identified: illuminating hegemonic structures, identity challenges, increasing competence through awareness, and varying connections. Implications related to cross-cultural counseling and counselor education and future research are discussed. K E Y W O R D SAsian students, counselor education, cross-cultural counseling, Latinx trainees, White clients Latinx and Asian students are growing populations within higher education and counselor education programs (Krogstad, 2016;Museus, 2014;Ng & Lau, 2011). Despite this growth, few studies have explicitly examined the experiences of Latinx and Asian counselor trainees. Scholars continue to reveal concerns expressed by Latinx and Asian students regarding their efficacy to serve a diverse clientele and adequately apply counseling skills, as well as their access to quality training and supervision experiences (Dickson et al., 2010;Goh et al., 2014;Spalding et al., 2018). Students are also concerned with the lack of course content related to White culture within counseling curricula (Spalding et al., 2018) and systemic racism, xenophobia, and discrimination within their communities and the broader society (Benjamin, 2021). These concerns warrant further investigation, as counselors of color have encountered racial microaggressions when providing counseling services to White clients (Branco & Bayne, 2020). In a prior study, found that Black counselor trainees also experienced racial stereotyping when working with White clients. Although the 2015 findings help us to understand more about this issue, experiences of Asian and Latinx counselors