Attending to the Experiences of our Students of Color CCPTP Conference - 2019

1. Attending to the Experiences of our Students of ColorCCPTP Conference - 2019 Alex L. Pieterse University at Albany - SUNY

2. Recognitions… “Umuntungumuntungabantu” “A person is a person through other persons…” Mentors Graduate students – LynsayPaiko & Katheryn Roberson

3. Theoretical Context • Racial categorization, although biologically fictitious, is a social reality with important implications for opportunity and access • Racial categorization includes a psychological component that is informed by cultural values and historical patterns • Racial categorization influences how we perceive and makes sense of the environment

4. Professional Context • CPY has a strong and rich tradition of attending to racial/ethnic diversity - theoretical, pedagogical, clinical, recruitment of students • Students of Color are strongly represented in our programs – roughly a 3rd of our student body – much higher than our sister disciplines (School Psych, Clinical Psych etc.) • Attending to race and culture is a fundamental value of Counseling Psychology • Model Training Program (Scheel et al., 2018) • Values Statement (Fouad et al., 2009) • We value the perspective of our students • Pieterse et al., 2016 – racial group membership and the multicultural counseling course • Koch et al., 2018 – CPY students reflections on faculty multicultural competence

5. Personal Context(family discussion…healthy family discussion…) • I believe my experience as a Faculty of Color is not unique when it comes to supporting students of Color as they navigate what continues to be a very “White” space • Students are more likely to seek me out to share challenges they are experiencing including microaggressions • They will check in when they have experienced a racially confusing situation to get some perspective or validation • They will come sharing secrets of ways in which they feel they have been marginalized, misunderstood, by colleagues • They will share ways in which they questions their sense of belonging or feel like an imposter directly related to their racial group membership • I find this both gratifying and challenging…at times feel like I would like the load to be shared…

6. Precursors to the Current Survey • Research Team / Process group • Student distress • “students of color need a leg up” - Humiliated, angry – did not know what to do • Student on practicum asked to see an “Athlete” who was in danger of being removed from the athletics program due to others experience of him as “aggressive” (Football player) • Student did not identify any significant point of psychological distress, was confused as to why she received the referral, why she was perceived as a goof fit for the student, and also was hesitant to process this referral with her supervisor. Her assumption was that the referral was a function of racial similarity

7. Data Collection and Research question • Online Survey • We are interested in your experience as a student of Color in your program. Please take some time to share what your experience has been/is. Take as much space as you like...

8. Modified CQR ApproachSpengler, Liu, & Hill 2012 • Coding a single item open ended question • Identification of researcher Biases • Identification of Themes and Sub-themes • Discussion and resolution of discrepancies • Frequency of themes reported • Reviewed by Auditor for trustworthiness

9. Sample (N=51) • Age • M = 28.20, SD 4.03 • Year in Program • 1st - 12 • 2nd - 13 • 3rd - 7 • 4th - 8 • 5th - 4 • 6th - 2

10. Sample (n=51) • Racial Identification • 17 - Black or African American • 16 - Asian (including South Asian, East Indian, East Asian, Indian, Asian Indian) • 11 - Latino/a (including Mestizo and Indigenous Mexican) • 3 - Arab or Middle Eastern • 3 - Multiracial

11. Sample (n=51) • Gender Identification • 40 - female • 6 - male • 1 - transgender • 1 - genderfluid • Geographical Representation • All regions represented with highest regions being Midwest, Southeast, Northeast

12. Theme Descriptions • Marginalization (48%) • Devalued, tokenized • Support (60%) • Positive, negative • Hypocrisy (20%) • Program talking but not walking the walk • Diversity Representation (38%) • Presence of students and faculty of Color • Positive changes (18%) • Individual and program level of changes • Racism (42%) • Unequal treatment, stereotypical expectations, microaggressions

13. Narratives • Racism/Marginalization/Hypocrisy “Being a student of color in my program has been incredibly difficult. The academy is a violent place for students of color, and although faculty acknowledge this, they do nothing to change the dynamics and structures that propagate this violence. The experiences of students of color are seen as methods by which white students in the program can learn more about the experiences of students of color, while their comfort is centered and prioritized over the comfort and safety of students of color. Our program struggles with moving past the theoretical understanding of racism and power and does very little more than discuss it and talk about how difficult it is for students of color while no effort is made to actually change the climate and dynamics of the department” Multiracial Latina

14. Narratives • Support - Positive “Although we talk a lot about social justice in class, I haven't talked a lot about my identity as a student of color. One of the reasons for that is I need time to process my experiences. However, when I am with other Asian students, I feel more comfortable to share whatever I experienced and get support from them” Asian participant “I think that my experience has been somewhat unique. I was fortunate enough to begin my program with a racially diverse cohort. I also was paired with an advisor who was a woman of color. Within our advising relationship, she often discussed my intersecting identities and understood my experiences as a cultural being. I felt cared for and comfortable in her presence” Asian participant

15. Narratives • Support - Positive/Representation I'm grateful to be in a program where diversity is valued and fully supported. My lab is probably one of the most diverse groups in our department and this is very comforting. I have felt nothing but support and encouragement from my peers and from my advisor. From day one, my advisor has been attentive to how I may feel being the only Mexican female in our area/department. For the department, I would say that there's not enough representation, so it does get pretty lonely looking around and not seeing people like me. It can be discouraging and maybe a little bit more of the pressure to perform. However, I always know that I can lean on my advisor for both advice and support.

16. Narratives • Hypocrisy/Support - negative Traumatizing from beginning to end…The program and department espoused social justice values but that was not translated in a way that actually helped me as Black woman with multiple other marginalized identities. My professors knew theory or maybe did research on queer folks, but applying that knowledge to their own students did not happen. If it did, empathy, support, action would have be present and my experience would have been different.

17. Narratives • Hypocrisy/Racism “It has sucked. People pretend like they are "culturally competent." They are racist to peers, I fear for their clients. Faculty not doing sufficient gate keeping. Environment is hostile and problematic. There is definitely a hierarchy of race in our program” Black participant • Positive Changes “The program does value diverse representation in its students, and the faculty is slowly becoming more diverse as well. However, change is slow when it comes to becoming more social justice oriented, and incorporating multiculturalism and social justice into the curriculum and more broadly the program. It is happening, though slowly”. Latina participant

18. Narratives • Marginalized “I also sometimes feel as if I am placed in the program to fill a qouta or to stand as one who adds diversity to the program numbers. In class, I often feel that my perspective is not understood or appreciated, or that if I were to address areas of concern, it comes off as being disruptive. I feel limited in that, speaking up in regards to issues of concern are not warranted, and if I were to speak up, the conversation would not lead to action” Black participant

19. Limitations and Conclusions • Self-Selection Bias…what would the other students say? • The current sample identifies several areas of difficulty experienced by students of Color • I'm going to use bullet points to explain my overall feelings: 1.Isolated 2.Misunderstood 3.Unequal 4.Different 5.inferior 6.Lonely 7.Unsupported and Unbelonged • Positive support largely appears to be a function of the presence of other students/faculty of Color - problematic

20. Discussion(being rather opportunistic here…) • What are your general reactions to this data? • What are some implications for our student body, and our programs • What are some steps for creating a more inclusive experiences for our students of Color (not enough to be invited to the table, also want full participation ) • As Training Directors what do we need to do differently? • As individual faculty members what do we need to do different? • As human beings what do we need to do differently?

21. Discussion(being rather opportunistic here…) • What are your reactions to this data? • What are some implications for our student body, and our programs • What are some steps for creating a more inclusive experiences for our students of Color (not enough to be invited to the table, also want full participation ) • As Training Directors what do we need to do differently? • As individual faculty members what do we need to do different? • As human beings what do we need to do differently?