Dr Nicole Samuel

Background: Exposure to racism is repeatedly experienced by individuals from racially minoritised backgrounds. This may be direct or indirect, and has a wide range of negative emotional, physical, and social consequences for those affected. Though these experiences have been highlighted by prominent events across the world in recent years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and the murder of George Floyd, the traumatising effects of racism are under-recognised.  There is an increasing drive for psychological therapists to engage with discrimination and social identities in their work; however, psychological therapists lack sufficient knowledge, training and confidence to sensitively manage conversations about racism. This has important implications for the standard of care provided to racially minoritised clients, including the risk of further psychological harm in therapy. Method:  A qualitative online survey explored people’s experiences of disclosing, or attempting to disclose, racial trauma in psychological therapy. Participants were 28 people who identified as belonging to minoritised racial groups, who had engaged in psychological therapy in the UK. Therapy spanned a range of modalities, and providers included the NHS, private therapists/organisations, charities and university services. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Three superordinate themes were constructed from the data: (1) The Dangers of Disclosure; (2) Holding the Burden; and, (3) Feeling Heard and Held. These demonstrated the range of potential harms and burdens associated with disclosures of racial trauma in psychological therapy, as well as examples of meaningful, validating therapist responses to disclosure. Conclusions: The results support previous calls for meaningful attention to race, racism, and racial trauma within training, practice and policy in the psychological professions. Practitioners, supervisors, service providers, educators and professional bodies must critically examine their commitment to antiracism to safeguard racially minoritised clients from further racial harm in therapy.