The White Man in the Room: Finding My Position as a White Therapist

Abstract

This paper explores the discomfort that resulted from a brief exchange between a white male therapist and a black male patient. The discomfort is understood as pointing towards an absence of racial understanding in the therapist, which contributed to a breakdown in empathic communication. This absence is explored in relation to the concept of internal racism and used to highlight an inequality in the subjective experience of race between the therapist and patient (Davids, 2011; Internal Racism: A Psychoanalytic Approach to Race and Difference). The notion of white privilege is introduced and considered as a useful counterpart to internal racism for thinking about white racial experience. White privilege is viewed as a useful concept for making present what is often missing from discussions of race and difference. It is suggested that until white experience acquires racial meanings, the burden of thinking about race will be placed upon the racial other (Davids, 2011). These themes are considered from within a psychoanalytic framework, but significant use is made of ideas from outside psychoanalytic theory to demonstrate the complex interplay of internal and external forces that give shape to unconscious racism. It is suggested that further exploration of these ideas in relation to the superego could be especially useful for clinical understanding.

Refugees and asylum seekers who have experienced trauma: Thematic synthesis of therapeutic boundary considerations

“…This aligns with literature, which suggests that becoming a transcultural psychotherapist involves both cultural decentring and professional decentring; the ability to distance oneself from themselves and be able to understand another person's perspectives (Carballeira Carrera et al, 2022; Duden et al, 2020; Sturm et al, 2011). Feelings of therapist helplessness and defensiveness may be heightened within the context of white privilege, systemic racism and possible internalised shame (Bartoli et al, 2015; Liggan & Kay, 1999; Weir, 2021). Therapists acknowledged expressing their anger and disappointment with socio‐political and legal systems, as a way of distancing themselves from the system which perpetuates clients' distress.…”

Insider, Outsider, Observer: Reflections of a Young Black Female Trainee on a Psychiatric Placement

“…The inferiority complex refers to the internalization of negative perceptions of individuals with darker skin whilst all that embodies 'whiteness' is glorified and idealized. With this understanding, whiteness then becomes much more than a white person but is symbolic and so saturated with racial meanings beyond one's character or personality (Weir, 2021). What is 'white' can be obtained, worked towards, and even mastered, like the French language.…”

“…Though small and seemingly obscure, I think these interactions illustrate the difficulties I faced in creating distance between those of the same race as I am and maintaining my role as a participant observer. Often race relations within professional interactions are mostly thought about in relation to a white professional with a non‐white patient (Gundel, Bartholomew & Scheel, 2020; Leary, 2012; Weir, 2021), but it is important to explore and consider the experiences of ethnic minority professionals when interacting with patients who are members of the same racial group.…”