As a Black British woman, there are times when my experience of a White British person has left me feeling confused, scared and angry. I’ve been told at times that the feeling has been mutual. Despite well-meaning intentions there is still so much that is misunderstood in interracial interactions.
In this workshop is to facilitate delegates’ exploration of their racial blind spots and the assumptions they make from their own racial frame of reference. I will also be sharing my own experiences as a Black client and a Black counsellor within interracial therapeutic relationships. Together we will explore questions such as:
- What do racial blind spots look like?
- What might we be overlooking about those who are racially different and similar to us?
- How can we increase our professional resilience in interracial therapeutic relationships?
Through exploring how our racial identities have shaped our overall experiencing, can we as practitioners hold the racial difference between us and our clients with integrity rather than tokenism and with confidence rather than fear?
Course Content
Presenter
Sarah Henry is a published author, person-centred counsellor and counselling tutor. She is a contributor to the book People Not Pathology: Freeing Therapy From The Medical Model (PCCS Books, 2023), with a chapter focused on the overmedicalisation of Black people. Sarah has also presented nationally about the impact of race and ethnicity within the counselling and tutoring relationship. Born in England to a Black British mother and Jamaican father, Sarah’s formative experience was a notable dynamic of complementary and clashing norms. Elements of this disparity continue into adulthood and inform her work, both implicitly and explicitly.
