TPC Journal-Vol 10- Issue 2-FULL ISSUE

The Professional Counselor | Volume 10, Issue 2 145 are described. Finally, the article identifies the clinical implications for counseling AAPI clients, encourages a decolonization of current trauma-focused interventions, and presents specific strategies to heal race-based trauma in AAPI client populations. Xenophobia and Sinophobia in Media The emergence of new infectious diseases historically has led to discrimination against groups of people of non-European descent (White, 2020). Indeed, the history of international infectious disease has predominantly been framed from a distinctly European perspective, which has focused on how disease negatively impacted post-colonial sites and affected trade (White, 2020). Experiences of fear and anxiety related to infectious disease often occur when people become threatened by an illness perceived as originating from outside one’s community (Taylor, 2019). Thus, the resurgence of attitudes characterized by xenophobia, or a fear of foreigners (Sundstrom & Kim, 2014), and sinophobia, which can be understood as the “intersection of fear and hatred of China” (Billé , 2015, p. 10), perpetuates a legacy of discrimination against non-White groups because of fear of illness. AAPIs have experienced a long tradition of blame and discrimination in the United States. Scapegoating AAPIs in light of COVID-19 echoes the racist “Yellow Peril” stereotype, which vilified Asian groups as a threat to job and economic security in Western nations (Kawai, 2005). The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which effectively banned the immigration of Chinese persons to the United States for 10 years, further evidences historical anti- Chinese sentiments and an extensive history of discrimination against AAPIs in America (Lee, 2002). The problematic, biased, and misleading media coverage of COVID-19 has led to increased rates of racial discrimination and sinophobic attitudes toward Chinese nationals and people of Asian origin (Wen et al., 2020). Health-related fears and phobia have been linked to misinformation fueled by sensationalist headlines (Taylor &Asmundson, 2004). Media, especially social media and the internet, are indispensable resources for information, communication, and entertainment. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, reports of discrimination and violence against Asian Americans have increased substantially across the United States (Congressional Asian American Pacific American Caucus [CAPAC], 2020). COVID-19–related fears have resulted in the persecution of AAPIs through violent attacks (CAPAC, 2020), discrimination against their businesses, and sinophobic portrayals in media and from elected leaders (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [NAACP], 2020). The dissemination of racially targeted content in media includes hate speech toward Chinese people, harassment, discriminatory stereotypes, and conspiracy theories (CAPAC, 2020; Schild et al., 2020; United Nations Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner, 2020). A data analysis of two popular web platforms found a significant rise in racial slurs, invoking earlier attitudes of sinophobic propaganda. To better understand the emergence of sinophobic attitudes within online communities, Schild and colleagues (2020) collected and analyzed 222,212,841 tweets and 16,808,191 posts from Twitter and 4chan imageboards, respectively, from November 1, 2019, to March 22, 2020. The results revealed a significant increase in the presence of racial slurs that targeted Asians and Asian Americans, including “Kung-Flu,” “Ching Chong,” and “asshoe,” a term used to denigrate the accent of Chinese people speaking English (Schild et al., 2020). “Chink” was the most popular sinophobic slur and increased substantially after Donald Trump referred to COVID-19 as “the Chinese virus” (Schild et al., 2020). Marginalized Groups Uniquely Affected Social inequities and policies related to COVID-19 may disproportionately affect people of color and other marginalized groups, including individuals who are homeless, people with non-dominant racial and ethnic identities, undocumented individuals, people in lower socioeconomic groups, and individuals with limited access to health care. Individuals who lack shelter, reside in congregate living settings, or