Race remains a potent and polarizing issue in all domains of our society and unfortunately, the world of therapy is no exception. Despite the omnipresence of race in our lives, progressive and meaningful conversations about it remain somewhere between difficult and impossible, often characterized by avoidance, discomfort, and awkwardness. Clinicians and other human services workers are often relied upon to navigate these difficult conversations, but many lack the requisite tools to do so.

Outline

Five steps to repairing damaged relationships
Understanding race in therapeutic situations
How to respond to overt racism

• The cost of not responding as a therapist
• When to actively confront

Precursors to conversations about race

• Defining our “race”
• Identifying our prisms

Ethnicity versus race

Three options for engaging in the topic or racism

• Problems resulting from the term “racism”

Strategies for talking about race

• Six critical factors

Faculty