Social Justice and Mental Health Professionals
by Akiva Singer
The death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis in May 2020 has sparked intense conversations about systemic racism in the United States. As protests continue throughout the country and groups continue to push for political, economic, and social changes, many have begun to examine how the status quo contributes to racism and what can be done to better understand, address and repair its impacts.
Mental health professionals and organizations occupy a distinct space in this conversation, having an unparalleled opportunity to understand and help individuals affected by systemic racism. The Training Institute for Mental Health (TI), as with many in the psychological community, are seeking ways to use this position in the best possible way so as to be an ally in this fight. As TI's newly named Executive Director, Fred Aiese, states: "Racism is born of intergenerational transmission of trauma on the micro and macro levels. Acts of overt and covert racism are passed down and encoded from generation to generation. It is incumbent upon us as mental health providers to know this history and be constantly aware of and willing to change our knowledge gaps and biases. Lack of awareness begets enactment."
Howard Kogan, a former Executive Director at TI, participated in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. He also believes that agencies like TI can make a positive difference in the fight against racism, particularly in providing training and educational opportunities to therapists so they can best meet the needs of clients who have experienced discrimination. Mr. Kogan emphasizes the importance of helping therapists better relate to the struggle of finding personal acceptance in a society that is not accepting. He found that prejudice in clients often comes from their own feelings of inferiority, and that as these clients come to understand and accept themselves better, their bigotry begins to fade. Simply by helping their clients understand themselves, therapists can help fight some of our societal prejudices.
A current TI faculty member with close ties to issues of social justice is Rossanna Echegoyén. As the founder and co-chair of the Committee for Race and Ethnicity at the Manhattan Institute for Psychoanalysis, as well as a member and leader in a number of other social justice-oriented psychoanalytic institutions, Ms. Echegoyén’s work has long focused on many of the issues taking center stage in current conversations about race in America. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing our place within, and taking steps to undo, the systems and power structures that keep minorities subjugated. “There are people that have been left out, [and] there are policies in place that keep people out" she asserts. "The psychological and psychoanalytic communities are not immune to such systems. The massive hierarchical and bureaucratic structures around which these communities are built may help standardize and facilitate effective treatment, but they also are powerful enforcers of the status quo and often make it difficult for minorities to enter the field. To truly bring about a more equal future, institutions and individuals must both recognize and attempt to change these power structures to be more inclusive."
Rossanna Echegoyén
Ms. Echegoyén stresses that action must be taken to change the systems that uphold racism. She cautions though against individuals jumping into action too quickly without first examining their own place within these systems. Individuals eager to influence change, particularly those in positions of privilege, must “do the work of looking at [themselves], rather than going into action first.” She explained that the structures administering systemic racism are complex and take place at levels far beyond the individual, but understanding where one fits into the system, how one has benefitted from it, continues to benefit from it, and possibly contributes to it, is crucial in finding actionable steps one can take no matter your position. Much of the racism our society deals with today is not overt and those who help perpetrate it may not know they are doing so. Enacting change requires we recognize our place in it and change our actions so we no longer contribute to these systems.
In sum, it is clear that therapists have a role to play on both ends of this cycle. They are both the products this socialization as individuals and play an important part in the socialization and attitudes of their clients. Therapists always must walk the line between the personal and professional with their clients and this issue is no exception. Therapists can be authentic and open about their views while still stressing that they are only their own views and not meant to pressure the client. People who are concerned or feel anxiety about issues of social justice will likely find comfort in such honesty and vulnerability. Clients with differing views should still
feel comfortable sharing and discussing them with their therapist and should feel supported in figuring out their own thoughts on a difficult subject. As always, the focus should be on helping a client grow and become the best and most honest version of themselves they can be.
As Mr. Kogan concludes, “You change the world one person at a time.”
Akiva Singer is interning at TI this summer, writing articles about mental health issues, and interviewing people from the TI community. Akiva is an undergraduate neurobiology student at the University of Wisconsin Madison. He expects to pursue a graduate education in clinical psychology.