A Clinician’s Ethical Responsibility to Reduce Cultural, Sexual, and Gender Identity Microaggressions
A microaggression is a subtle discriminating attitude, belief, behavior, or omission based on stigmatized minority differences such as race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or ability. Microaggressions are often outside the conscious awareness of the perpetrator or could even be well-intended, as a result of cultural privilege, underlying tensions, cultural bias, and prejudicial beliefs. The cumulative effect of microaggressions can be incredibly impactful. This is especially true in a clinical setting, where microaggressions could have a chilling effect on seeking future health care services, resulting in missed screenings, late interventions, and poorer health outcomes.
During this interactive presentation, participants will learn how to advocate for reducing cultural, sexual, and gender identity microaggressions. Participants will develop skills for informing health care administrators, providers, and policymakers on best practices and practical ways for reducing or eliminating microaggressions in their health care setting. Throughout the webinar, participants will explore what microaggressions look like, define appropriate terminology for addressing issues pertinent to sexual and gender identity minorities, and critically reflect on their own potential cultural biases.
Participants will be able to:
- Develop awareness on how to identify microaggressions in a clinical setting.
- Introduce ways to reduce microaggressions and build a better understanding of cultural differences between sexual orientation, gender identity, and other intersecting identities.
- Engage in critical self-reflection in an effort to reduce the risk of committing a microaggression.
Jeff Peterson, PhD, NCC, LCPC, LPC, PCC
Dr. Jeff Peterson is an assistant professor in the School of Education and Counseling at Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska. Previously, he taught at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs; Avila University in Kansas City, Missouri; and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Dr. Peterson is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) and counselor supervisor in the states of Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Utah.
Dr. Peterson served as the Chi Sigma Iota faculty advisor for the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs chapter and has been heavily involved in promoting multicultural inclusivity/advocacy within the classroom. Over the past year, he served as a faculty mentor for Quad, a joint university collaboration between the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado College, and the University of Colorado, developing best-practices for in-school suicide prevention/intervention programming. Dr. Peterson currently serves on the editorial review board for the American Counseling Association’s Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling and is the co-founder and organizer of the Healthcare Guild, a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping sexual and gender minorities find affirming and culturally competent health care. In addition to presenting at both national and regional conferences, Dr. Peterson is also a national presenter for PESI and Good Therapy.
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