In the spotlight
To mark Black History Month, we talk to academics, students and practitioners involved in research that addresses issues of race and culture in counselling and psychotherapy
Dr Chijioke Obasi is an experienced academic, researcher, EDI consultant and Senior Fellow of Advance HE. She is currently a final year student in counselling and psychotherapy and has been working with BACP on issues of race and diversity in counselling and psychotherapy research.
Can you tell us about your work with BACP?
In 2022 I was a member of the keynote panel at the Research Conference on ‘Striving for equality, diversity and inclusion in research, practice and policy’. Since then I have been involved in developing research grants aimed at making issues of race and diversity a more central focus of the curriculum for professional counselling courses. I also serve as a peer reviewer for BACP’s research grants scheme alongside other colleagues, and co-designed and co-delivered the ‘Decolonising counselling and psychotherapy research’ workshop with Dr Wayne Full.
What motivated you to get involved?
My experiences as a black student on a counselling and psychotherapy course – there is still a serious underrepresentation of issues of diversity on my course, and this is particularly stark in relation to race and racism. This seems to be common across the field. If therapists are not taught about race and racism in their training, then how do they support clients when they bring these issues into a therapeutic relationship?
How do you think that research on issues of race and ethnicity can influence counselling and psychotherapy practice or training?
So much of what we do as a profession is linked to identity and lived experience. It is important that practitioners are confident in discussing all areas of client identities. Research on race and ethnicity and indeed lived experiences of racism can help create an evidence base from which we can develop good practice guidelines. Ultimately, I would like to see the introduction of minimum standards around race and diversity as part of the accreditation process for counselling and psychotherapy courses.
Adele King is the founder of Transcendence Coaching, specialising in providing coaching and training to individuals and organisations in the context of diversity and change. Adele’s co-researcher, Mary Martala, is a university senior lecturer specialising in teacher training students who wish to become teachers of English as a second language. Both Adele and Mary have just completed a Level 4 diploma in therapeutic counselling.
What is the topic of your research?
We wanted to investigate the extent to which therapists today cater for ethnically diverse communities. Previous research led us to hypothesise that greater awareness of the varying needs of ethnically diverse clients is needed and that current training may be insufficient. Please click to see research results.
What motivated you to undertake research?
Our aim was to identify some of the key issues affecting counselling in an ethnically diverse society. We also wanted to raise awareness of diversity in counselling, to identify whether there is a need for more robust training in cultural competence, to provide a catalyst for more meaningful conversations among our peers, and to further develop our own practice.
What do you hope your research can bring in terms of practice or training implications?
Training emerged as a recurring theme from a curriculum perspective but also from a more subjective sense of ‘readiness’, including helping to overcome a perceived lack of knowledge and fear of saying or doing the wrong thing. The implications for training could include the re-evaluation of course materials to incorporate diversity at all levels of study, with the inclusion of diverse influencers’ perspectives and theories. There was a desire from many participants to broaden and deepen their own understanding on equality, diversity and inclusion in a safe way. This could be achieved through CPD, research, debate and participation in forums, which would provide a safe and supportive environment for open dialogues and collaboration.
Frances Basset is a senior accredited BACP member and psychosynthesis psychotherapist and supervisor. As a member of Psychotherapists and Counsellors for Social Responsibility, Frances co-facilitates groups for all therapists to examine whiteness in the context of racism and anti-racism. An article on her research, ‘Exploring whiteness in the context of anti-racist practice: a mixed methods survey’, was published last year in the European Journal for Qualitative Research in Psychotherapy.
Can you tell us about your research?
I am exploring ‘whiteness’ and white identity within the context of anti-racism education and training for psychotherapists and counsellors. Analysis of a survey I conducted in 2022 highlighted four themes: the dominance, yet invisibility, of whiteness; the importance of education and skilled facilitation; complexity, ambivalence and not knowing; and the importance of understanding the wider context. These themes have provided my starting point for a narrative inquiry involving in-depth interviews across a diverse group of psychotherapists and counsellors to explore their experiences of whiteness within anti-racism education.
What motivated you to choose this topic?
Anti-oppressive practice was a focus in a previous career as a senior lecturer in healthcare at the University of Brighton. The pandemic, the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement preceded my decision. At that time, psychotherapy had a strong focus on equality, diversity and inclusion but not anti-racism, and I was keen to keep this spotlight in place and contribute to a significant change in practice.
What impact do you hope your research might have on practice?
There is so much to learn and no excuse for white therapists, like me, to not educate ourselves. I hope to show how education about racism/anti-racism and white identity should be the core thread running right through psychotherapy education. I hope this will help to dismantle racism within the profession and support the decolonisation agenda for training programmes.