About

Lisa B. Spanierman is a professor in the School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology at Arizona State University. She has been recognized for her contributions to the field of counseling psychology, notably receiving the Fritz and Lynn Kuder Early Career Award from the American Psychological Association's Society of Counseling Psychology in 2012. Spanierman is an APA Fellow and served as vice president for scientific affairs for the Society of Counseling Psychology from 2012 to 2015. Her scholarly work includes more than 80 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, as well as a co-edited book. Her research primarily focuses on racial microaggressions and white individuals’ racial attitudes. She co-authored the second edition of "Microaggressions in Everyday Life" (2020) and "Breaking the Deadly Dance of Racism" (2026) with Derald Wing Sue. Spanierman also served as associate editor for the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education from 2016 to 2019. She has been honored with several teaching awards, including the University of Illinois Provost’s Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching. Additionally, she was a fellow-in-residence at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF) in Bielefeld, Germany during 2018–2019 and returned in 2022 to co-lead a conference on racial and ethnic microaggressions. Spanierman’s educational background includes a PhD from the University of Missouri, an MA and EdM from Columbia University, and a BS from the University of Florida. Her research interests encompass white individuals’ racial attitudes, white racial justice allies, racial microaggressions, and multicultural counseling competence.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Social Science
• Social psychology
• Psychology
• Political Science
• Gender studies
• Aesthetics
• Psychotherapist
• Epistemology
• Anthropology
• Pedagogy

Selected publications

• Breaking the Deadly Dance of Racism

  2026-02-06

  bookSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• New Directions for Racial Discrimination Research as Inspired by the Integrative Model

  UNC Libraries · 2025-08-22

  articleOpen access

  In 1996, Cynthia García Coll and colleagues introduced a groundbreaking model that articulated factors that influenced the development of ethnic-racial minority and immigrant youth. One of the key arguments was that racial discrimination is a stratification mechanism resulting in negative developmental outcomes for minority youth, and this argument has been supported by several meta-analyses. Against the backdrop of the rise of White nationalism, increasing hate crimes against ethnic-racial minority individuals, implementation of national policies that disproportionately affect communities of color, and the shift to a majority-minority country, it is imperative for future research to refine key aspects of the integrative model that are intricately connected to these trends. The present article offers recommendations for future research in 4 areas: (1) expansion of segregation indicators to include mass incarceration and mass deportation, (2) expansion of the study of resilience factors among minority youth, (3) application of the integrative model to White youth, and (4) the development of comprehensive measures and utilization of diverse methodologies. It is imperative that future research clarify these issues to further understanding of the development of all children in the context of racial discrimination. 

  PublisherDOI

• From out of the shadows: Understanding women’s experiences of white supremacist deradicalization.

  Peace and Conflict Journal of Peace Psychology · 2025-02-13

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• A qualitative investigation of trans students’ experiences with microaggressions at a Canadian university

  Higher Education · 2025-07-03

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Relational Approaches to Transforming Institutions

  2024-04-23

  book-chapterSenior author

  In this chapter, a trio of racially diverse (Asian American, Afro-Latina, and white) women professors and practitioners in social work and psychology explore how white mental health professionals can use their power and privilege to help shift institutions toward racial justice, and more effectively collaborate with and support BIPOC students, colleagues, and leaders. Drawing from the experiences and lessons shared by the BIPOC contributors in this volume, we highlight key themes and insights that white racial justice allies can draw on to advance racial equity and justice in their institutions. Specifically, we encourage white peers, faculty, and leaders to seek ways to mitigate their BIPOC colleagues’ race-related stress by holding themselves accountable for their actions that may be perpetuating harm, and by intervening to support their colleagues both publicly and privately. We emphasize the importance of critical reflection, mindful listening, and intentional efforts to deepen empathy and understanding, and to partner with your BIPOC colleagues to advance racial justice wherever you are.

  PublisherDOI

• Racial Microaggressions: Empirical Research that Documents Targets' Experiences

  Gesellschaft der Unterschiede · 2023-02-06 · 1 citations

  book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Racial Microaggressions: Empirical Research that Documents Targets’ Experiences

  transcript Verlag eBooks · 2023-02-23

  book-chapterOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Racism is mostly associated with overt and intended harm.But it also features subtle racist interactions that affect targets' mental health, internal experiences, and social as well as professional lives.These subtle forms of racism often remain invisible or are dismissed as trivial.We employ the concept of racial microaggressions to analytically conceptualize the impact of everyday racial acts -whether they are frequent or cumulative, verbal or nonverbal indignities, intentional or unintentional -within a conceptual framework in psychological and educational research.In this chapter, we define the term racial microaggressions and offer four superordinate categories of the concept that we use to organize themes from prior qualitative research (Houshmand, Spanierman, & De Stefano 2017;Sue & Spanierman 2020).Next, we describe various instruments researchers have developed to measure experiences with racial microaggressions (i.e., frequency and distress levels).We then describe a growing body of research that provides evidence of the harmful effects of racial microaggressions on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC), primarily in the United States and Canada.We conclude by discussing the theory's application in Germany.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Gender Microaggressions That Target Women in the U.S. Military: Examining Links with Depression and the Moderating Role of Rank and Coping

  Psychology of Women Quarterly · 2023-10-05 · 2 citations

  article

  In this study, we examined active-duty women's experiences with gender microaggressions in the U.S. military and their associations with depressive symptoms. We also tested if rank and coping strategies would moderate the link between gender microaggressions and depressive symptoms. Participants comprised 682 self-identified women from the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy. Results from an online survey indicated that active-duty women's experiences with gender microaggressions were positively and significantly associated with their scores on a measure of depressive symptoms. Military rank moderated this association but coping strategies did not. Specifically, among those in lower military ranks (i.e., enlisted service members) we found a stronger association between gender microaggressions and depressive symptoms, whereas higher rank (i.e., officers) served as a buffer. Our results suggest that clinicians should be aware of the potential effects of gender microaggressions on active-duty women's mental health, especially among enlisted women. Commanding officers and military policymakers should consider potential implications of gender microaggressions on unit cohesion, unit performance, and mission effectiveness.

  PublisherDOI

• Working Alliance and Client Outcomes in a Counselor Training Center: Comparing Telehealth and In-Person Formats

  Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science · 2023-12-22

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• White Guilt in the Summer of Black Lives Matter

  2022-01-19 · 5 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract White guilt is a controversial topic that has been criticized on all sides of the political spectrum in the United States. In popular media, white guilt feelings have not been understood as productive, but rather as manipulative, futile, or superficial. In contrast to conventional critiques of white guilt, psychological research elucidates how individual and collective forms of guilt might be a force for good. For example, white guilt has been linked to prosocial outcomes such as support for affirmative action and willingness to confront white privilege. In this chapter, I draw on psychological research to consider under what conditions white guilt helps to explain white individuals’ support for Black Lives Matter during the summer of 2020.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Helen A. Neville

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  20 shared

• V. Paul Poteat

  Boston College

  17 shared

• D. Anthony Clark

  Arizona State University

  10 shared

• Nathan R. Todd

  10 shared

• Sara Houshmand

  9 shared

• Amanda M. Beer

  9 shared

• Jioni A. Lewis

  University of Maryland, College Park

  7 shared

• Mary J. Heppner

  6 shared

Education

• Ph.D.

  University of Missouri

• M.A.

  Columbia University

• B.S.

  University of Florida

Awards & honors

• Fritz and Lynn Kuder Early Career Award (2012)
• American Psychological Association (APA) Fellow
• University of Illinois Provost’s Award for Excellence in Gra…
• Fellow–in–residence at the ZiF (Center for Interdisciplinary…