Internalized Racism of the Clinician and the Treatment Dynamic

SUMMARY This article examines the transference and countertransference found in an interethnic treatment dyad where the therapist is a heterosexual Black woman and the patient is a homosexual White man. The core issues examined are racial and sexual identity, power and privilege, internalized racism, and shame. Clinical examples, including dream material, are presented in an effort to explore the unconscious aspects of identity and internalized introjects.