“If you cannot talk about racism, especially about the ways in which you have been unintentionally complicit in racism, then you will never be able to go beyond a mere superficial understanding of racism. ”
As a future therapist I think it is important to understand myself and the intersectionality of my identity. I identify as a white, gender fluid-femme, student, married, mediterranean, middle class, artist, spiritual being, therapist…the list could go on and on. The way my identity is shaped is formed by my past/my upbringing, the ways in which I have evolved and individuated as an adult, and the experiences I have accumulated along the way. The excerpts from my Multicultural Awareness reflections and the video speak a lot to the ways I have come to understand how my thoughts about gender, sexuality, and race were formed. How growing up in a white, upper-class area instilled close minded beliefs that clouded my judgement when it came towards interacting with people who identified outside the cis-het white norms I was used to. It also clouded my ability to see myself and accept my queer identity.
I think its also important to note that I lived in a place of power and privilege and did not notice because it was the norm of my upbringing. Then as an adult I realized how problematic the beliefs of my upbringing were and how my values didn’t align with those I grew up with. I began to see how systems of power oppressed other people. Living in Chicago, a still fairly segregating city, I witnessed and took part in gentrification of neighborhoods that pushed BIPOC/low income families out. While there I also became an advocate for sexual assault survivors all helped open my eyes towards the privilege I held and the broken system that our society operates in. These experiences helped me form stronger beliefs in the need for equity, collectivism, and anticapitalistic structures both in my everyday life and practice, as well as in society.
The multicultural courses at Southwestern have been an invitation for unlearning and relearning thoughts and beliefs about race, gender, sexuality, class, and disability. In these courses I explored the ways I have upheld systems of white supremacy and patriarchy in my life. I have been able to have more compassion towards my past and my inner activist has found a voice. I was able to use my voice as a member of the Social Justice Group at Southwestern and facilitated conversations on voting, disability justice, and applying social justice in art therapy. I also have been able to use my voice in speaking out for structural change in our curriculum (mainly Consciousness I & II) at Southwestern. Social justice work is part of working as a therapist. Which requires doing the work to dismantle patriarchal, white supremacist, and capitalist systems of oppression. Something I will be committed to doing throughout my career as a therapist.
My philosophy in working effectively with people who are different from me is to be clear, open, and nonjudgmental. Communicating with clarity, honesty, and compassion minimizes confusion and allows an ease in flow of sharing ideas. Being open and nonjudgmental allows for room to be wrong. Acknowledging that I am not an expert, I cannot possibly understand the complexities of another person’s experience just as another person cannot understand mine. This helps diminish the power structure and ego battles that can come into play when working with someone who is different from you. My ethics paper attached below is a good example of using these skills with a client. Though I may have my own beliefs, areas of bias, that may differ with my client the most important thing is that they feel supported and that I keep doing the work. I cannot use my clients as teachers or people to work out my beliefs with or push my beliefs onto my clients. I need to be able to seek guidance and council from the internet, peers, advocates, and supervisors. I must establish honesty with myself about my own limitations and fill in the gaps where possible so that I do not cause harm to those I am working with. In the end the clients guide the therapy and it’s up to me to do my own work so that I can show up authentically with compassion. This process of unlearning and relearning is crucial to working with clients who are different from me and will be a lifelong journey.