Examining our own relationships to racism as the foundation of decolonising systemic practices. ‘No time like the present’

Abstract

Racist discourses embedded in our social structures can have a profoundly negative impact on people's emotional well-being. This paper calls for a re-focusing within systemic therapy on anti-colonial and social justice approaches specifically on addressing racism. We propose that if we are to make this shift in our practice, we need to first engage in processes of self-reflexivity about the impact of racism on ourselves and our personal relationships. We draw on Paolo Freire's idea of ‘conscientisation’, or consciousness raising – a form of self-reflexivity through the lens of power, and on the work of McKenzie-Mavinga, who highlights the importance of therapists developing their awareness and understanding of how racism operates in their lives. We illustrate these ideas through an exploration of how we have approached this work within a long-standing peer supervision group.