Challenges in Promoting Race Dialogues in Psychology Training: Race and Gender Perspectives

Abstract

Given today's racial diversity and the ongoing racial tensions in our communities as a result of police shootings of unarmed Black men, terrorist acts in the United States and globally, and expressions of racism and xenophobia in the political arena, it is essential for psychologists to be culturally competent. Four diverse faculty members engaged in a self-study of their multicultural teaching practices to explore the challenges inherent in participating in authentic race dialogues. In this article, we discuss the findings from our independent and collective analysis of faculty narratives and provide recommendations for facilitating honest and courageous race dialogues in graduate psychology training.

Building a Climate for Advocacy Training in Professional Psychology

“…A potential barrier for junior and/or tenure-track faculty to engage in such work is whether this type of service will count towards tenure and promotion (Nadal, 2017). For instance, tenure-track faculty have been advised not to teach courses that address inequalities (Chung et al, 2018) as the literature suggests teaching these classes can result in lower course evaluations that can subsequently affect one's tenure process (Helms et al, 2003;Sue et al, 2009). Scholar-activists remark that universities often prioritize publishing in top-tier journals and having strong teaching evaluations rather than engaging in community-based or public impact research (Quaye et al, 2017).…”

White Supremacy and Counseling Psychology: A Critical–Conceptual Framework

“…Goodman et al, 2018). Even so, there continues to be challenges inherent in engaging in race dialogues with trainees (see Chung, Bemak, Talleyrand, & Williams, 2018), including trainee distrust and questioning of faculty credibility, facilitator triggers and countertransference, and trainee defensiveness and resistance (Chung et al, 2018;Smith, Kashubeck-West, Payton, & Adams, 2017), which suggests the need for continued research and training about Whiteness, racism, and White supremacy.…”

It’s not wrong, it’s just different

“…Having to navigate students' responses and sometimes the class as a whole, facing student resistance but still remaining open and encouraging because you understand the 'process' in becoming more culturally aware, can be difficult. This process reminded me of the emotional and psychological toll that has been reported by faculty of color who teach multicultural education (Chung, Bemak, Talleyrand & Williams, 2018). My hope was to create an authentic moment, to have a collaborative, in-depth conversation about the emotional reactions, process their feelings, and as a teacher share the model of what it looks like to take risks and be vulnerable in these types of conversations.…”

“…This leads me to also explore the extent of my own privilege or lack thereof within this context. The triple effect of race, gender, and emotionally loaded multicultural training may influence students’ openness and perceptions about the competency of faculty of color in general, and women of color faculty specifically (Chung et al, ). Increasing awareness of implicit racial attitudes involves more than making an individual aware of the attitudes itself but to also become aware of the influence the attitude may have on psychological processes, such as communication and behavior (Gawronski, Hofmann & Wilbur, ).…”

“…This leads me to also explore the extent of my own privilege or lack thereof within this context. The triple effect of race, gender, and emotionally loaded multicultural training may influence students' openness and perceptions about the competency of faculty of color in general, and women of color faculty specifically (Chung et al, 2018).…”