Exploring Black women’s experiences in UK psychotherapeutic training and practice

McCallum, Melissa

Abstract

Discussions around racial disparities and social injustice have gained increasing prominence in Western societies. However, psychotherapeutic research is increasingly criticised for its omission of Black women’s intersecting experiences, this includes research exploring the experiences of practitioners. This study aimed to explore and centre the experiences of Black women within psychotherapeutic training and practice and how they navigate their intersecting oppressions of sexism and racism within therapeutic training and clinical roles. Using the framework of Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2000) and Critical Race Theory (Ladson-Billings, 2021) and a qualitative approach, I used interviews, focus groups and qualitative surveys to gather data from 15 Black women who have lived experiences as psychotherapeutic trainees and practitioners. I used reflexive thematic analysis to analyse the interview and focus group transcripts and survey responses and developed six themes. Thinly veiled racism in psychotherapeutic training and practice highlighted how racism in psychotherapeutic training and practice can be subtle and hard to recognise and non-Black peers, course leaders, and colleagues may not always acknowledge it. This implicit bias can hinder Black women's career growth, especially when there is no political will from leaders to address it. Lack of representation cultivates alienation demonstrated that the low numbers of peers and representatives in leadership left the participants feeling excluded in the profession and learning spaces. This theme raised significant questions about the awareness of organisational and institutional leaders regarding the challenges that impact their marginalised members. In the theme Power from the margins: the usefulness of sitting on the outskirts, participants highlighted how their marginalised perspectives allowed them to critique and improve access to psychotherapeutic services for their communities. Contradictions in the use of voice - empowering and restricting highlighted ways the participants were able to use their literal and political voices to challenge harmful racial stereotypes or problematic views held by peers and leaders. Their experiences of silencing through victimisation were paradoxical as they frequently encountered victimisation after attempting to self-advocate. Too visible for the wrong reasons, invisible when it matters reflected the participants’ felt sense of hypervisibility for their differences alongside their experiences of exclusion for the same differences. The study reveals the combined narrative of participants' experiences in psychotherapeutic training and work, offering insights into the factors that educational and professional institutions should consider to foster inclusive training and practice environments for Black women in the field. The data suggest further research is needed that centers the experiences of Black women as service users, therapeutic trainees, and practitioners. Furthermore, research on white privilege in psychotherapeutic training and leadership, examining resistance to current oppressive structures, would benefit future research in counselling psychology and therapeutic training.

Citation

McCallum, M. Exploring Black women’s experiences in UK psychotherapeutic training and practice. (Thesis). University of the West of England. https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11549417

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jan 5, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 25, 2024
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11549417
• Award Date: Jul 25, 2024