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Microaggressions in German Psychotherapy
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Description: Microaggressions are brief and everyday verbal, behavioral, and environmental insults that intentionally or unintentionally convey hostile, derogatory, and negative messages in form of questions, comments, and actions in everyday life (Sue et al., 2007). As a subtle form of discrimination, microaggressions have a detrimental impact on mental health and well-being of marginalized groups such as women (Derthick, 2015), sexual minorities (DeSon & Andover, 2023; Owen et al., 2019), and gender minorities (Parr & Howe, 2019). Microaggressions within psychotherapy have been reported in various marginalized groups (e. g., Owen et al., 2010; MacDonald, 2013; Morris et al., 2020) and are associated with lower self-reports of therapeutic working alliance (Owen et al., 2019) and treatment effectiveness (MacDonald., 2013). Even though individuals who experience subtle forms of discrimination report increased levels of anxiety, depression, psychological distress, and suicidality (Lui & Quezada, 2019; Parr & Howe, 2019; Salim et al., 2019; Woodford et al., 2014) research focusing on microaggressions within the context of psychotherapy is still scarce. Until today, no studies have focused on the experience of sexist, heterosexist, or cis-sexist microaggressions in European psychotherapies and their potential effect on therapeutic working alliance and therapy outcome. The present project aims at filling this gap by investigating the occurence and frequency of microaggressions against women (study 1), sexual minority individuals (study 2), and gender minority individuals (study 3) who have utilized psychotherapeutic treatment within the last year. We expect microaggressions in psychotherapy to negatively predict both client perceived working alliance and improvement following psychotherapy. Since effective discussion of occurred microaggressions could prevent negative outcomes (Owen et al., 2014), we will examine whether addressing microaggressions moderate the aforementioned effects. For this purpose, n = 250 adult women (study 1), n = 250 individuals who do not identify as heterosexual (study 2), and n = 250 individuals who do not identify with their gender assigned at birth (study 3) will complete questionnaires addressing microaggressions, perceived working alliance, and therapy outcome in an online survey. Ultimately, the studies aim at advancing research in the field of anti-discriminatory psychotherapy in Europe to improve education and supervision for therapists and therapists in training. References Cherry, M. & Wilcox, M. M. (2020). Sexist Microaggressions: Traumatic Stressors Mediated by Self-Compassion. The Counseling Psychologist, 49(1), 106–137. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000020954534 Derthick, A. O. (2015). The sexist mess: Development and initial validation of the sexist microaggressions experiences and stress scale and the relationship of sexist microaggressions to women's mental health (Order No. 3740179). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global; Publicly Available Content Database. (1752638981). https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/sexist-mess-development-initial-validation/docview/1752638981/se-2 Lui, P. P. & Quezada, L. (2019). Associations between microaggression and adjustment outcomes: A meta-analytic and narrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 145(1), 45–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000172 MacDonald, K. (2014). Sexual orientation microaggressions in psychotherapy (Bd. 75, Nummern 2-B(E), S. No Pagination Specified). ProQuest Information & Learning. Morris, E. R., Lindley, L. & Galupo, M. P. (2020). “Better issues to focus on”: Transgender Microaggressions as Ethical Violations in Therapy. The Counseling Psychologist, 48(6), 883–915. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000020924391 Owen, J., Tao, K. W., Imel, Z. E., Wampold, B. E., & Rodolfa, E. (2014). Addressing racial and ethnic microaggressions in therapy. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 45(4), 283–290. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037420 Owen, J., Tao, K. W., & Drinane, J. M. (2019) Microaggressions: Clincical Impact and Psychological Harm. In G. C. Tarino, D. P. Rivera, C. M. Capodilupo, K. L. Nadal, D. W. Sue (Eds.), Microaggression Theory: Influence and Implications (1st ed, pp. 67-85). John Wiley & Sons. Owen, J., Tao, K. W. & Rodolfa, E. (2010). Microaggressions and Women in Short-Term Psychotherapy: Initial Evidence. The Counseling Psychologist, 38(7), 923–946. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000010376093 Parr, N. J. & Howe, B. G. (2019). Heterogeneity of transgender identity nonaffirmation microaggressions and their association with depression symptoms and suicidality among transgender persons. Psychology Of Sexual Orientation And Gender Diversity, 6(4), 461–474. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000347 Salim, S. R., Robinson, M. & Flanders, C. E. (2019). Bisexual women’s experiences of microaggressions and microaffirmations and their relation to mental health. Psychology Of Sexual Orientation And Gender Diversity, 6(3), 336–346. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000329 Schönbrodt, F. D., & Perugini, M. (2013). At what sample size do correlations stabilize?. Journal of Research in Personality, 47(5), 609-612. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2013.05.009 Shelton, K. & Delgado‐Romero, E. A. (2011). Sexual orientation microaggressions: The experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer clients in psychotherapy. Journal Of Counseling Psychology, 58(2), 210–221. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022251 Sue, D. W., Capodilupo, C. M., Torino, G. C., Bucceri, J. M., Holder, A., Nadal, K. L., & Esquilin, M. (2007). Racial microaggressions in everyday life: implications for clinical practice. American Psychologist, 62(4), 271-286. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.4.271 Woodford, M. R., Kulick, A., Sinco, B. & Hong, J. S. (2014). Contemporary heterosexism on campus and psychological distress among LGBQ students: The mediating role of self-acceptance. American Journal Of Orthopsychiatry, 84(5), 519–529. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000015