We’ve all heard about cultural competence in clinical practice. And while it’s important, it’s also not enough.
So today, Thema Bryant-Davis, PhD will get into some first steps in becoming an antiracist practitioner.
Click here for full transcript
What are your biggest takeaways from what you just heard? Please let us know by leaving a comment below.
If you found this helpful, here are a few more resources you might be interested in:
Working with the Trauma of Racism
When Staying Neutral Isn’t the Best Approach
The Same Pandemic, Vastly Different Experiences
thank you for this perspective
Thank you!
Great. Timely for me. Thank you.
Thank you for this insightful presentation! The most important learning I got was that it’s actually not helpful to try to explain to a person who is feeling hurt or discriminated against by others, what possible positive intentions those people may have had rather than how they’re interpreting their actions. It’s better to just compassionately listen and show understanding for their feelings.
Firstly the statement that had the biggest impact on me is that to look away as an individual is seemingly insignificant, but to be the person who notices that everyone looks away has a significant impact.
And secondly that humility is simply admitting that you don’t know everything, but combined with compassion it can still help people.
This is so insightful and helpful, and in the spirit of cultural humility, I would like to follow Dr. Bryant-Davis. I wonder why you haven’t featured her more often in this space, on other topics as well. Please post her info?
Kathy Lessuck, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Providence, RI
Thank you for this description and defining difference between cultural competence and anti-racism. There are many places for white folks to learn and understand the history and continued issues of white supremacy culture and its devastating effects on Black folks and people of color in personal, institutional and systemic aspects of US culture. As a white women who has been actively fighting racism in my personal life, as an activist and in my work place for many years I can tell you that I can still make unintentional but still harmful comments because we have all been raised in this soup of white supremacy where “whiteness” is the normative value.
Some of the groups where white folks can learn how to practice anti-racism are organizations like Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), the Catalyst Project and Training for Change. We can also be in real relationships with Black folks and read and learn. As practitioners in health and wellness spaces, we especially need to break the role of supporting white supremacy and racism to be in real and healing relationships with our clients.
This is so insightful and helpful, and in the spirit of cultural humility, I would like to follow Dr. Bryant-Davis. I wonder why you haven’t featured her more often in this space, on other topics as well. Please post her info?
i am grateful for that clip in these challenging times. Being active, having cultural humility as well as compassion, no victim blaming and releasing defensiveness (the hardest part for me) are my take aways. good to ask: what might it be like for me to live in that person’s shoes, skin, head, heart.
thanks.
Absolutely correct.. My whiteness need not be a barrier as long as i can see my own biases from my own upbringing education and place of privilege. Always place myself in anothers space to gain a view other than my own. If at any point feel defensive know i need to pause and review my thinking. Humility love and a desire for equality for all must take precedence. ” I” must take a back seat if im to be of use to another.
I think this is such an important topic for discussion. Cultural Competence became the tick list approach to service delivery throughout the 80s and 90s without the deep conversation needed to address and give voice to underlying attitudes. There are still very little fora where the majority group is enabled to discuss race, difference, or have the opportunity to reflect on the roots of their ideas, assumptions and privilege. My experience with this type of group work revealed clumsy language use, outdated terminology and stereotyping due to limited opportunities for exploration or interaction. Those ideas become internalized for fear of exposing limited understandings. Process driven change has allowed this blindness to continue, the idea of institutionalised racism emerged in response to that yet we still have no systematic ways of encouraging anyone to really dig deep. I really like the concept of “averting eyes” as a metaphor for not tackling this.
I am glad you are giving this attention. I like what you said. The time for people are people has frankly always been over. I love this.
What resonated for me was he importance of being curious about the other individual’s experience… what was that like for you? …what did that mean for you?…. instead of responding with defensiveness of “well, I’m sure that wasn’t intended.” The issue is what is the others experience, how does it leave them feeling about themselves and how can we be more alert to those possibilities so that we don’t in unconscious or default or automatic responses replicate those painful experiences that cause people to feel unseen, devalued, somehow less than, etc.
Those of us who are white have very , very little understanding of what it is like to live as a person of color in our culture….we expect civility, acknowledgement because that is what is so often afforded to us… it is hard to imagine our black friend being overlooked in the retail setting or the restaurant because that is not our experience. What is that like-to live a lifetime experiencing repeated episodes of being minimized, discounted, to feel unsafe? Of course, it impacts one’s mental health. I can only hope we can continue to learn how to bring healing.
Thank you, Thema, for naming what is necessary in addressing the impact of racism on mental health. ~ Jill Kelley
When I initiated work as a chaplain, and also as I had emvarked on education, it was necessary to work within fields of cultural competence. I appreciate recognizing that we all hold within ourselves intrinsic biases, but that we can also actively work on maintaining the main objective to listen, validate, and support others as they undergo support for their mental health. And absolutely racism and our social constructs of systemic racsim have a significant impact on mental health. It is vital to listen and explore our clients’ experiences but it is also absolutely necessary to explore our own personal reactions so that we can best serve those who come seeking support.
This is a beautiful invitation for us to sit more comfortably in the realm of impact versus intention. To allow ourselves to bare witness to the erosion of self that can happen with the repeated (dare I say relentless) impact of all the “isms”. It allows us to move out of the space of the self-esteem that is taken for granted because it is artificially bolstered by privilege and therefore never really challenged. To me, an anti-racism stance opens the door for conversations about loss, pain, frustration, demoralization, dehumanization, shame, and so much more. And, of course, we can also be witness to a depth of resilience, strength and authenticity that is of the unshakeable kind because it is forged in the fire of a society that remains unfair and unequal.
What you say regarding “isms” is eloquent–especially how you allow conversations to be able to focus on loss, dehumanization, etc–all significant feelings when healing from trauma. Thank you so much for your perspective!
Thanks for creating awareness of cultural competency in a time where people are craving understanding to help others to feel understood. It’s easy to have the sentiment but without more examples of what people experience it’s still all abstract. This is empowering information.
I was very much touched by the intention and impact discussion. Thank you for this information. I see that even though our intention may not have been to dismiss or hurt if these things happen the client or person is not helped . I appreciate these insightful videos thank you
Thanks for this, I really apprecited your thoughts
I have been craving this kind of information and direction. Thank you.
I think this is a very insightful and important video. For those of us who thought that “seeing people as people, regardless of race”, was a good, fair and helpful thing to do, now can see how blind this is. Thank you!
Thank you so much. Such clear, straight forward way to deal with challenging diversity and what I like mot was the warmth and deep feeling it came from this video.
I really appreciate the beginning question of taking the time to reflect on what answer I would give that would be concise and relvant on how White supremacy and entitlement impact mental health. I also like the distinction between cultural humility and cultural competence.
Thank you Dr. Bryant-Davis for this extraordinary learning experience. I so appreciate your words, examples, and reflective wisdom. My thoughts about intention and impact will forever hold a wider scope.
These are wise and very helpful advice for me both as a client and as a counsellor. I can’t agree more with the importance of therapists’ dropping their defence and actively taking anti-racism/discrimination stance, in order to help their clients heal from their racism/discrimination based trauma.
Thank you so much for this, so clear and helpful, I really appreciated the concrete examples, and the comparison between intent and action for the person in the wheelchair. Also really interesting to think about the difference between being culturally competent vs anti-racist. Has activated me and helps me think how I want to do and understand more, and strive for an anti-racist stance, anti-oppressive practice in my work as a child psychologist in the uk, thank you. More please!
Ask therapist what impact does racism have on mental health? Is a good question to ask.
Thank you so much. This is such an important and sensitive issue that as therapists we need to be aware so as to respond appropriately and justly. I have found myself in situations in which I had to address racism with a client, and it was received with either resistance, fight back, or, “but I’m not racist’ responses. Although I have lived in the US for 50+ years, I am originally from Spain, and I have at times been told that I just did not know and understand the issues because I was not a native american. But I do know the history, and I also know what racism and prejudice looks like, and I have seen the hurt in a person’s eyes as she/he shared the pain. I believe that education is essential. However, there is more than education that we need. We need to come to the realization and firm belief that we are all ONE – in our humanity and with the whole creation — Without that, I am not sure that we will get there soon. And then, what do we have? Those of us who believe in this oneness, we have to keep trying… one person at a time– and in this country, we have to use our VOTE to make changes… Thanks again,
Mercedes, Philadelphia, PA
Dr. Bryant-Davis, thank you for giving concrete examples. I appreciate your suggestion to sit with the experience in you, and to imagine and sit with what life might be like for the other. We need to bare witness, and not turn away.
Very helpful and wise. Thank you.
Thema you just rocked my world and you can bet I have spent the morning sharing your wisdom.
Please put together a program. I (and I suspect many of us) am hungry for more incredible insight that we can use right now personally and professionally.
If this isnt a deep dive and pivot moment I don’t know what will be. I feel so many of us are beyond ready to understand ourselves and racial issues in new ways that bring about real change that can clean these deep wounds.
New languaging, new ways of seeing into our unconscious identifications and how it plays out – the actual impact vs intention. Brilliant.
Thank you for showing us the doorway to cultural humility!!
I didnt recognize it but Ive been hungry for new ways of understanding my relationship to race and other race.
Thank you NICAMB and Thema
It was very helpful to hear the example of Bryant-Davis’ experience hearing a disabled person’s story- the way we as helpers may identify with the problem behavior and defensively want to neutralize it and make the speaker wrong vs how healing it can be when the therapist sits with, tries to understand and acknowledge the experience presented by a client
Good ideas. Thanks
Thank you for this. Antiracism and cultural humility need to be more integrated into graduate programs across the nation.
Most poignant takeaways for me were the cultural humbleness and the idea of watching the desire to be defensive and what does that mean. To avoid that/ keep it in check and simply acknowledge their experience and how wrong it was- “sit with it.”
Dr. Bryant-Davis,
This spoke to me like no other resource has thus far, during this current climate. I am going to share this with my students.
Thank you!
-Katie Veit
Clear distinctions and well put.
I love the addition of the phrase ‘cultural humility’ to the conversation (and the emphasis on continuous learning.) These practices (consider what it would be like if everyone…did that; notice the defensive reaction ‘We don’t mean it’ and distinguish between that and the result of the behavior) will now hopefully become a daily intention for me.
This is excellent, Thema. Thank you.
Thank you Dr. Bryant- Davis for taking the time to share this incredibly valuable and necessary information. I empathetically and intellectually related to the examples you gave. I am a physical therapist certified and specializing in craniosacral therapy and somatoemotional release. I work with a diverse population and sometimes on a multidisciplinary team. I am not a counselor, yet I can immediately begin to apply what I learned listening to you today. The information you provided facilitates my ability to begin moving beyond cultural competence and sensitivity toward being an antiracist practitioner. There will always be more for me to learn. I can start today, both professionally and personally, applying changes in my thoughts and words to embody cultural humility, provide a safer space for clients and community in an antiracist manner. Thank you. I have been finding ways to educate myself, yet know I still make mistakes. I would like to continue learning more.
Thank you. I felt your example of disabled invidividuals’ experience of invisibility was an example experience that was relatable (I am a sister of 2 brothers who are disabled and have worked with clients who have described this experience).
Thank you, Thema Bryant-Davis. As a white person working with an ethnically diverse population, I found this very helpful. I can recognize how I have reacted defensively in the past and how, despite my empathy, my response was invalidating the other’s experience.
Thank you, Dr. Bryant-Davis, for sharing from your education and experience. As I was listening to this video, not only was I listening for how I can be an anti-racist practitioner, but i was also listening for how I can teach my students to be anti-racist as well. The things that really stuck out to me were:
1) cultural competence vs. cultural humility. This really hit my heart center
2) how I can educate myself around the impacts of racism on mental health and how I want to answer the question, “what are your thoughts on the impact of racism on mental health”. This brings forwards another question, which is “what kind of a practitioner do I want to be?”
3) do not go into victimhood, instead create safe space to listen and hear my client’s experience. And, if I affirm that such racist/harmful experiences are NOT okay, and are deeply impactful and traumatic, I could be offering the space for healing. Being aware that my skin colour matters and has an impact on my client’s healing journey is showing that I am a safe(r) practitioner to work with
4) the difference between intention and impact
Thank you, Dr. Bryant-Davis, for your clear, straightforward, and penetrating explanations and examples. As a white person with good intentions, I am glad to be guided to “see” my impacts on all levels, including those I had perhaps sensed but not really fully realized or examined. One take-away: if I find myself feeling defensive, that’s a cue to take a closer look!
I would love to see NICABM providing more resources such as this to enhance therapy skills around the effects of systemic racism and addressing racial injustice. I respect this institute a lot and have found it very helpful, but also see an area for growth in this domain. Whether it be separate resources such as this or addressed more directly as a factor in other trainings provided. This video was helpful and I wish to see more from such a quality institute. Thank you for all that you do!
Dr. Bryant-Davis’s words are wonderfully accessible, and profound. In this brief video she provides suggestions that I can reinforce with myself-and my clients – immediately. My traditional academic training as a speech language pathologist included these principles – but not in the context of our racially fractured society of June 2020. I am a holistic practitioner certified in energy healing using methods that reduce trauma, anxiety, PTSD and the blocks of a broken system. It is humbling, exciting and challenging to learn skills needed to be a mindful Antiracist practitioner. Thank you! I look forward to deepening my knowledge, hands on awareness and collaborate with both multiethnic, and white clients to bring antiracist change in my corner of the world.
Leslie Darrell
Yarmouth, Maine
She addresses this in the video by describing the initial response to want to defend your position. It’s common to want to do that because of course your intent is not to discriminate. However by defending it you’re sending a message that the experience of the person in the wheel chair is not valid. It’s not just one person passing and not looking, it was the collective experience of moving through campus and over and over again, people would not look at her.
I feel so lonely at this time with my family, neighbours, coworkers and good friends that do not see the harm in what is happening in our world. It’s not about politics anymore. It’s about what you believe in the core of your being. Some people don’t question why they support who they support. Is it because people are too afraid that maybe what they think is right, isn’t right at all? Blaming and shaming and refusing To take responsibility and see the others point of view is not a conductive way of bringing people together for the common good unless you are wanting your own gain. Freedom has its own consequences too.
I hope I’m making sense here. So many burdens on my mind. Why don’t people think about both sides of a coin??
Thx for the video,
Janet
Thank you Dr. Bryant-Davis, discrimination does extend beyond skin color and ethnicity. I appreciate your message. Thank you NICABM for posting this message. I live near Minneapolis, MN, and it’s been heart-breaking to see the destruction and arrests of peaceful protesters who just want to be seen and heard. It’s been eye-opening to hear from some of the people being interviewed by local news talk about how they are discriminated against on a regular basis by people in authority roles like police officers and state patrol officers. The provoking behavior, in their words, is based on the fact that they have brown skin. I read “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh when I was doing my masters in social work, and I never forgot some of the comments she made like, “Why are most band-aids the color of white- skinned people?” It may seem like a small thing, but what I wonder “what if I were a person of color and didn’t see much in my environment that reminded me that I was seen and heard by customer service staff, manufacturers, decision-makers, i.e. anyone who couldn’t relate to me and my ethnicity, and who none-the-less impact my daily life?” I would feel disenfranchised, too and would not feel that my life mattered in the bigger community that I live in. I will read Peggy’s paper again. I realize that the statement on someone’s face mask honoring George Floyd, “We can’t breathe”, is a serious and heartfelt statement that we who have White privilege and insensitivities must pay attention to, and use for change in our personal, work and community lives. I realize I need to make some changes in my attitude and sensitivity toward people of color in my own community, too.
Colleen, LICSW
Plymouth, MN
I have had some really good training in cultural competence and have touched on some of the ideas raised here but it still points out, yet again, that as a privileged white male I need to go the extra step
Thank you Dr Bryant-Davis! I’m actively looking engage with my colleagues (including supervisees) around the concept of moving beyond an awareness as a clinician with cultural competence & cultural humility to an awareness, a practice of being an anti-racist clinician. I am on the look out for quality trainings and CE courses to supplement and encourage further growth. Again, thank you.