TPC Journal-Vol 10- Issue 2-FULL ISSUE

150 The Professional Counselor | Volume 10, Issue 2 comment with, “I have always been respectful of your values and recognize how people are free to hold different attitudes, but I hope you see that what you have written is offensive.” Educate the Offender. Although it is inappropriate to ask POCI to educate and confront perpetrators, as it exclusively puts the onus of change onto the marginalized person, educating the offender may represent an important strategy to affect societal change. One powerful objective is to facilitate an enlightening conversation that indicates how what has occurred was offensive (Sue et al., 2019). This tactic helps perpetrators differentiate between their intent and the resulting impact (Sue et al., 2019). Because many people become defensive and shift from action to intention when a microaggression is pointed out (Sue, 2015), differentiating between good intent and harmful impact represents a powerful educational strategy (Sue et al., 2019). For example, a Chinese woman may hear COVID-19 incorrectly termed “the Chinese virus” in a conversation among colleagues. In this scenario, she may choose to engage in an enlightening dialogue to educate the offender about how the term “Chinese virus” perpetuates offensive sinophobic attitudes. A helpful conversation starter might be, “I know you may not realize this, but referring to COVID-19 as ‘the Chinese virus’ denigrates Asian individuals and is offensive.” In the same situation, it may additionally be helpful to point out how the term “Chinese virus” violates the WHO (2015) best practices policy for naming new human infectious diseases. Seek External Reinforcement or Support. The final microintervention is aimed at the promotion of regular self-care, ensuring optimal levels of functioning, and communicating to perpetrators that bigoted behavior is unacceptable (Sue et al., 2019). Self-care and promoting wellness can be employed by pursuing counseling, reporting sinophobic behaviors to appropriate authorities, and seeking the support of one’s spiritual or religious communities (Sue et al., 2019). An increasing number of AAPIs are reaching out to crisis support hotlines. As of March 2020, approximately 13% of AAPIs had contacted crisis text lines compared to 5% of other U.S. callers, respectively (Filbin, 2020). Similar to other POCI, the presence of social support and collective gathering represents an effective coping strategy for Asian Americans (Wei, Alvarez, et al., 2010; Wei et al., 2012; Yoo & Lee, 2005). Indeed, seeking support represents an important strategy AAPIs employ to preserve mental health. Cultural Proverbs and Analogies Incorporating proverbs and analogies embedded in AAPI traditions are culturally sensitive strategies to empower clients and strengthen their ethnic identity. Cultural metaphors and stories may additionally strengthen the therapeutic alliance, as AAPI clients may feel their counselor understands and appreciates their cultural background (Hinton & Jalal, 2019). Strong identification with one’s ethnic group promotes wellness and serves as a protective factor in AAPI groups (Iwamoto & Liu, 2010) and Filipino Americans (Mossakowski, 2003). Counselors can empower clients to promote ethnic pride and increase cultural commitment by using proverbs and stories from client culture in counseling. Guiding AAPI clients to embrace their rich and important tradition of knowledge may promote self-esteem and decrease negative affect (Hinton & Jalal, 2019). Two popular examples of Filipino proverbs may be helpful to promote the importance of social support and cultivate compassion when perpetrators are reluctant to recognize how their behaviors are offensive. A Filipino proverb posits, “A broom is sturdy because it is tightly bound” (in Tagalog, “ Matibay ang walis, palibhasa’y magkabigkis ”). This message aligns with a collectivistic mentality that people are stronger when standing together. Another Filipino proverb suggests, “It is hard to wake someone up who is pretending to be asleep” (in Tagalog, “ Mahirap gisingin ang nagtutulog-tulugan” ). This saying cultivates empathy and compassion for perpetrators of microaggressions and sinophobic