Addressing Lgbtq Microaggressions in Social Work Field Education: A Case Study

Background/purpose:

Microaggressions are defined as “subtle, unconscious, and unintentional discrimination” against members of oppressed groups. No aspect of social work practice or field education is immune to the impact of microaggressions on supervisors, students, and clients. LGBTQ social work students must have tools to alleviate the personal and professional impact of these microaggressions, both to conduct themselves professionally and to support their clients in easing the impact of microaggressions and anti-LGBTQ oppression on their daily lives. A queer supervision model (Alvarez, Beltran, Anderson, & Bifulco, unpublished manuscript) was developed and implemented as an intervention to mitigate the experiences of microaggressions, ethical dilemmas, and identity concerns that LGBTQ social work students (BSW and MSW) experienced in the field.

Methods:

This qualitative case study outlines three specific incidents of microaggressions in social work education and practice and how queer supervision was used mitigate their impact. The first case example centers on social justice/activism and the queer supervision goal: Participating in advocacy and activism from a professional standpoint. The second case example focuses on visibility, cultural identity, and healing from trauma of oppression and the queer supervision goal: Integration of self. The third example is about boundaries and self-disclosure and the queer supervision goal: “Outing” and critical reflection on self-disclosure. The description of each incident as told by the supervisee will demonstrate the process and practice implications for social work practitioners and students alike. Nadal’s (2013) framework for understanding microaggressions and the LGBTQ community will be utilized to demonstrate the efficacy of queer supervision in addressing the impact of these microaggressions on both the content of the supervision and the supervisory relationship.

Discussion:

The supervision of marginalized students is a vital opportunity to mitigate the impact of microaggressions and marginalization on that individual. Satterly & Dyson also note, “In light of the increasing number of ‘out’ sexual minority therapists, the need to address the roles of oppression within the context of supervision is especially relevant,” (2008). Social work educators must attend to microaggressions taking place both in the field practice and the supervisory relationship in order to mitigate their impact and allow student to get the full benefit of field education.

Implications:

LGBTQ social work students must have tools to alleviate the personal and professional impact of microaggressions, both to conduct themselves professionally and to support their clients in easing the impact of microaggressions and anti-LGBTQ oppression on their daily lives.

Social work practitioners, researchers, and policy-makers should consider the application of this model (and similar models) to address the needs of LGBTQ students in their programs. Strategies for implementation will be discussed.