{"title":"Racism in counseling and psychotherapy: Illuminate and disarm.","authors":"Derald Wing Sue, Helen A Neville, Laura Smith","doi":"10.1037/amp0001231","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>For the first time in its 130-year history, the American Psychological Association formally admitted to its ugly racist past and acknowledged how White supremacy continues to pervade the profession. Although the apology spans the entire field of psychology, the primary focus of this article is on how the profession of counseling and psychotherapy has reinforced and contributed to the oppression of people of color. First, we contend that psychology mirrors cultural racism/White supremacy and represents the major framework from which psychologists and other social scientists with power and privilege located the source of problems within people of color, their family values/structures, and their communities. Second, we maintain that the concept of professionalism has resulted in four legitimizing pillars of counseling and psychotherapy in which polarities are created that value universalism over relativism, individualism over collectivism, objectivism over subjectivism, and empiricism over experientialism. These four foundations of a White epistemology channel and subsidize racism by equating racial/cultural differences with pathology; promoting color and power blindness; blaming the victim; dehumanization and objectification; and denial of different racial realities. Last, we offer solutions for dismantling racism in counseling and psychotherapy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).</p>","PeriodicalId":48468,"journal":{"name":"American Psychologist","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":12.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American Psychologist","FirstCategoryId":"102","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001231","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
For the first time in its 130-year history, the American Psychological Association formally admitted to its ugly racist past and acknowledged how White supremacy continues to pervade the profession. Although the apology spans the entire field of psychology, the primary focus of this article is on how the profession of counseling and psychotherapy has reinforced and contributed to the oppression of people of color. First, we contend that psychology mirrors cultural racism/White supremacy and represents the major framework from which psychologists and other social scientists with power and privilege located the source of problems within people of color, their family values/structures, and their communities. Second, we maintain that the concept of professionalism has resulted in four legitimizing pillars of counseling and psychotherapy in which polarities are created that value universalism over relativism, individualism over collectivism, objectivism over subjectivism, and empiricism over experientialism. These four foundations of a White epistemology channel and subsidize racism by equating racial/cultural differences with pathology; promoting color and power blindness; blaming the victim; dehumanization and objectification; and denial of different racial realities. Last, we offer solutions for dismantling racism in counseling and psychotherapy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
期刊介绍:
Established in 1946, American Psychologist® is the flagship peer-reviewed scholarly journal of the American Psychological Association. It publishes high-impact papers of broad interest, including empirical reports, meta-analyses, and scholarly reviews, covering psychological science, practice, education, and policy. Articles often address issues of national and international significance within the field of psychology and its relationship to society. Published in an accessible style, contributions in American Psychologist are designed to be understood by both psychologists and the general public.