Why Ableist Microaggressions Matter

The researchers have collaborated in this area after identifying a dearth of published research. Cook and Deroche met as NBCC Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) Fellows, when Deroche was pursuing this research avenue. 

“I started delving into the area of disability, particularly disability competence, with my dissertation research,” says Deroche. “I wanted to help amplify the voices of people with disabilities, like myself, and to speak to their experiences regarding ableist microaggressions. I wanted to have representation in the research because we don't see a lot of it.” 

Ong explains that a unique quality of their recent research is contrasting the experiences of those with visible and invisible disabilities, which may be quite different. 

“A lot of people who don't have a visible disability, for example, people who are dealing with chronic illness or chronic pain or mental illness, they are in that invisible group, and people tend to overlook their experience.” 

It’s important for counselors to be educated about ableist microaggressions because the phenomenon is ubiquitous, says Deroche: “The likelihood that counselors are going to encounter clients with disabilities is really high given the prevalence rate, which is estimated at least one in four people in the United States.” 

Despite the ubiquity of disabilities, research—including Deroche’s—has shown that counseling students do not receive adequate training on the subject. This can have real consequences in counseling practice. 

According to Ong, even experienced counselors may not appreciate the impact of microaggressions: “They were talking about ‘why don't we just teach people with disabilities about their self-management, their self-efficacy, and their self-confidence.’  
And our argument will be, they have been doing that since they acquired the disabilities.”  

Deroche explains that the effect of microaggressions against a person with disabilities is often underestimated, and the many instances a person might face throughout a day or week have a compounding effect.  

“The thing to understand is that it places the person with a disability with having to decide mental energy–wise, how do I respond in this situation?” says Deroche. “Do I stop and educate? Do I just ignore it? Do I get angry? I think that's an important piece to understand, how taxing and distressing that can be.” 

Ignorance of ableist microaggressions cuts two ways. Counselors may lack the understanding of how microaggressions impact a client, but they may also unknowingly commit microaggressions against a client. 

"When folks don't get training about disability, it's going to increase the likelihood that they're going to have very little awareness about disability and about the ways that they talk about disability with other people, including those who have disabilities,” explains Cook. “The counselor might truly think that they're offering a compliment when they're really being culturally insensitive.” 

For clients with an invisible disability, a careless comment might create an environment in which the person does not feel safe to disclose their disability, says Ong. 

“The more knowledge our counselors can gain in terms of how to work with people with disabilities and build their own self-awareness, the higher the quality of services we can provide for people with any kind of disability.” 

The researchers’ work has shown them that counselors should inquire about disabilities during intake. There may be an assumption that a person’s disability is the reason for seeking counseling, but this is not always true.  

“We can't make the assumption that just because a person uses a cane or has a wheelchair or has a concealed disability, that that's the reason they come to counseling,” says Cook. 

Conversely, the existence of a disability may be relevant for counseling just as any life detail. While a disability may not be the reason for initiating counseling services, it can still provide important cultural context. A counselor who doesn’t ask about the presence of disabilities as standard practice may miss out on important context. 

“The more that we know and the more that we open the relationship up to contextual factors and convey that they matter, like where the client lives matters, what neighborhood they're in, what type of job they have,” says Cook. “We care about all that. So why wouldn't we care about whether or not they have disability?” 

“Most of the time when we talk about disability, people have that medical model in mind,” says Ong. “I think it's time, when you look into social justice, to promote disability as a person's social identity and use the social model to look at the experience of people with disabilities.” 

Deroche explains, “If counselors have that knowledge from the very beginning, they can utilize cultural broaching skills to have conversations with someone about their disability just like they would with any other type of cultural identity.” 

The authors caution counselors against avoiding the topic of disability for fear of unintentionally causing offense. 

“We're all going to make some mistakes,” says Cook. “When I talk with students about how to navigate situations that are unfamiliar in the clinical space, I always encourage them to return to using a reflection statement. When you get confirmation, that gives you opportunities for empathy in the future. And maybe even in that moment, an opportunity to convey empathy or to ask a follow-up question that is well grounded in what the client has told you already.” 

Further, cultural humility is key, says Cook: “The research shows us that counselors with higher cultural humility are forgiven by their clients. We have the research to back this up.” 

With counselor training programs generally providing minimal information on the subject, how can counselors of all experience levels increase their cultural competency with disability? Workshops and conferences on the topic are more available than in years past, but still uncommon, says Deroche. Other opportunities are found outside of formal education or continuing education. 

Deroche suggests reading relevant books, including biographies, memoirs, and works on the disability rights movement. She also recommends social media communities for people with disabilities and allies. 

“I think those methods outside of the professional arena really can be informative about the day-to-day type of experiences of people with disabilities and hopefully can provide a range of perspectives,” says Deroche. 

“I totally believe in the contact model, having real relationships with people with different kinds of ability or disability,” says Ong. “Personally, I gain a lot of experience working with leaders with disabilities in the community. I would promote getting involved, like serving on the board for an independent living center, where more than 50% of their employee are individuals with disabilities.” 

"I think volunteering is a great thing because depending on where you're located, there's going to be something for you,” says Cook. “And we're not talking about necessarily direct acts, direct services for counseling. There are so many things that a person can do that fit our skills and give us the opportunity to work and serve with folks who have disabilities.” 

“Those of us who have had close relationships—like Dr. Ong is talking about  with the contact hypothesis—we're better positioned because it's normalized to us that people have disability,” explains Cook. “But for those who have been ‘protected’ from disability or haven't realized that the people around them have had disabilities, I think they're a little bit at a disadvantage. But that can be overcome very, very quickly through intentional engagement.” 

Jennifer M. Cook, PhD, NCC, ACS, LPC, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Cook is a multiculturally focused counselor educator who utilizes strength-based methods, culturally relevant practices, and social justice advocacy. Her research focuses on counselor preparation and counselor cultural development, with emphasis on social class, socioeconomic status, and multiple identities. Dr. Cook has published extensively, completed over 40 national and international peer-reviewed presentations, and will publish a co-edited multicultural counseling textbook, Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling: A Systemic, Person-Centered, and Ethical Approach, later this year. 

Melissa D. Deroche, PhD, NCC, ACS, LPC-S, is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Counseling at Tarleton State University. She has extensive experience counseling individuals with severe mental illness and those with sensory, physical, and cognitive disabilities, and she is a member of the disability community herself. Dr. Deroche is a passionate educator who integrates multicultural and social justice principles and practices in her teaching and supervision. Her scholarly publications and interests center on counselor disability competence and the social justice concerns of individuals with disabilities, particularly ableist microaggressions. She has completed over 20 peer-reviewed state, regional, and national professional conference presentations, and she is lead author for a book chapter on disability and ableism featured in a new and upcoming multicultural counseling textbook titled Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling: A Systemic, Person-Centered, and Ethical Approach. 

Lee Za Ong, PhD, LPC, CRC, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology in Marquette University. She has experience in teaching in universities in urban-settings, including minority-serving institutions. With the ability to speak six different languages, she is committed to diversity and social justice in all aspects of her professional endeavors. Her current research agenda is to promote social and health equity of marginalized communities. Funding sources for her research have included the U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Administration Services (RSA), the Health Resources and Service Administration – Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (HRSA-BHWET), Wisconsin Humanities Council, and Marquette University.