Komekia Peterson
In counseling, racial trauma shapes not only the emotional lives of clients but also the clinical and personal responses of counselors. Despite the profession's growing emphasis on multicultural competence, many counselor education programs and ongoing professional development systems still fall short in preparing trainees and counselors to recognize, process, and effectively address racial stress and trauma. This gap impacts all counselors working with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) clients, but is particularly acute for those who share in the racialized pain their clients express.
For instance, one Mexican American graduate student I mentored was supporting a Spanish-speaking client who had experienced trauma from an immigration raid that separated him from his family. The counselor felt emotionally overwhelmed, as the client's story reflected her own family's fears of detention due to shifting U.S. immigration policy. Lacking structured support to process this vicarious trauma or to reflect on her dual role as a cultural mediator and clinician, she faced emotional exhaustion and increasing self-doubt.
The emotional labor of racial trauma in counseling
CACREP (Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs) sets national standards for counseling training across the U.S. Although it encourages cultural competence and requires coursework on diversity, it lacks specific mandates for training in racial trauma or emotional labor. This oversight results in significant gaps in equipping students for clinical practice related to race. These higher education programs strive to maintain professional standards in ethics, assessment, and cultural awareness. However, programs do not adequately address the psychological effects of racial trauma, which impacts both clients and counselors.
BIPOC trainees and practitioners often manage their reactions to microaggressions, institutional inequities, or race-related dynamics during sessions while also supporting clients facing similar challenges. This emotional toll, when unacknowledged, contributes to racial battle fatigue — a term coined by William Smith to describe the cumulative effects of racism-related stress — and may lead to burnout (Smith et al., 2011). Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged exposure to intense stress, often characterized by detachment, diminished efficacy, and emotional depletion.
I also supervised a mid-career Black clinician in a community mental health setting who supported an adolescent recently released from juvenile detention. The counselor, despite years of experience, found himself retraumatized by the case, recalling how he was criminalized and surveilled as a teen. His agency lacked race-informed clinical supervision, and the emotional labor of appearing strong while feeling unseen led to growing exhaustion and disconnection from the work.
The emotional burdens at these intersections are not exclusive to Hispanic and Black professionals. Counselors who are Indigenous, Asian American, multiracial, or from other racially marginalized backgrounds also face unique emotional challenges when working with BIPOC clients. While these shared experiences can cultivate deep empathy, they may also trigger personal traumas. Similarly, White counselors can feel emotional strain when dealing with racial trauma, particularly if they lack the skills to manage discomfort, navigate identity dynamics, or mend breaches in the therapeutic alliance.
Where Counselor Education and Professional Development Falls Short
Supervision, viewed through a race-conscious perspective, serves as a significant avenue for transformation. Supervision models that promote identity exploration, monitor emotional labor, and facilitate the processing of countertransference should be essential components of counselor training. Countertransference refers to the emotional reactions counselors experience toward their clients, often influenced by their personal background, identity, or unresolved issues. In the context of race-focused work, these reactions may manifest as guilt, defensiveness, grief, or a deep connection to a client's racial suffering. Emotions like these can emerge as feelings of helplessness, anger, or sadness, especially for counselors with backgrounds like those of their clients. If left unaddressed, these feelings could hinder clinical decision-making or disrupt the understanding of relational dynamics.
However, counselor education programs and ongoing professional development systems often overlook the impact of racial trauma on both clients and clinicians. Burnout is a prolonged state of emotional and physical exhaustion that results from prolonged exposure to high work demands. In contrast, vicarious trauma happens when counselors absorb the traumatic experiences of their clients, leading to emotional distress, altered worldviews, or symptoms resembling PTSD. Without intentional opportunities to reflect on and process these responses, trainees may feel unsupported and overwhelmed.
In various environments, supervision and ongoing professional development systems often prioritize clinical aspects while lacking emotional engagement. Discussions about race and culture frequently remain unaddressed unless initiated by students. This absence of dialogue can exacerbate impostor syndrome, particularly for BIPOC trainees who might already experience feelings of isolation in predominantly White institutions. Furthermore, when supervision overlooks racial dynamics, it hinders professional development and threatens to reproduce the systemic issues that clients seek to confront in therapy.
While CACREP standards emphasize cultural competence, they do not explicitly incorporate racial trauma, identity development, or emotional sustainability. Consequently, trainees and practitioners, especially those from the same marginalized communities as their clients, are often unprepared for the emotional demands of race-related clinical work. For example, when a Latinx counselor supports a client targeted by xenophobia or ICE surveillance, they may relive their trauma without the benefit of structured supervision to process that pain.
Solutions for equity and emotional wellness
To foster inclusive and resilient training environments, counseling programs and clinical sites must take intentional steps:
• Curriculum Reform: Integrate racial trauma, identity development, and systemic oppression into core coursework — not just isolated diversity lectures.
• Reflective Supervision: Prepare supervisors to recognize racialized countertransference and emotional labor, including for white counselors navigating discomfort or privilege.
• Wellness Structures: Provide identity-affirming support through affinity spaces, BIPOC-led debriefings, and race-informed mentorship. Wellness must go beyond generic stress relief to address race-specific emotional needs.
These actions benefit all trainees and practitioners by normalizing emotional honesty, strengthening racial literacy, and promoting sustainable practice.
Conclusion: investing in counselor sustainability
The resilience-based approach I advocate encourages counselor educators, supervisors, and institutions to adopt an equity-driven stance. Supporting trainees and practitioners, particularly those from marginalized groups, necessitates intentional changes in curriculum, supervision, and the culture of wellness. By investing in the sustainability of our counselors, we invest in the healing of the communities they serve.
It is time for counselor education to shift from values to actions. A race-conscious training model is not only necessary, but also a professional and ethical imperative.
Komekia Peterson is a PhD candidate, clinical supervisor, counselor educator, licensed mental health counselor, and substance use disorder specialist.
References:
Comas-Díaz, L., Hall, G. N., & Neville, H. A. (2019). Racial Trauma: Theory, Research, and Healing: Introduction to the Special Issue. The American Psychologist, 74(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000442
Smith, W. A., Hung, M., & Franklin, J. D. (2011). Racial Battle Fatigue and the MisEducation of Black Men: Racial Microaggressions, Societal Problems, and Environmental Stress. The Journal of Negro Education, 80(1), 63–82.
