Working with race and racial identities to support ethical practice

Programme

Framed within the ethical consideration of anti-oppressive practice and anti-racism, this event offers fresh perspectives from subject-matter experts that supports therapists to further develop knowledge and skills in working with racial difference in their practice.

This event builds on themes of anti-racism, and anti-oppressive counselling practice explored in a round-table discussion by therapists and service leaders in response to racist violence in towns and cities in England and Northern Ireland in the summer of 2024.

Presentations offer opportunities to explore racial identity and difference, to gain understanding of the concept of 鈥榗ultural attunement鈥�, and the role of white allyship in supporting ethically grounded anti-oppressive practice.

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Programme

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9.30am - 9.40am	Welcome & Introductions
9.40am - 10.40am	Understanding racial identity, race-avoidance and challenges within interracial therapeutic relationships, presented by Sarah Henry
10.40am 鈥�10.50am	Break
10.50am 鈥�11.50am	Developing Cultural Attunement for supporting Ethical Anti-Oppressive Practice, presented by Myira Khan
11.50am 鈥�12.00pm	Break
12.00pm 鈥�1.00pm	Utilising white awareness to promote antiracism within counselling and psychotherapy education and practice, presented by Frances Basset
1.00pm	Event close

This programme is subject to change.

Understanding racial identity, race-avoidance and challenges within interracial therapeutic relationships

9.40am 鈥� 10.40am

The session will introduce participants to the concept of racial identity and the impacts their ability to engage in race-related conversations within their therapeutic practice.

The session with also focus on understanding the challenges of client and therapist race-avoidance, exploring vulnerability and insecurity within race-related conversations.

There will be exploration on how to sustainably develop individual racial identity, exploring 鈥榚veryday racial friction鈥� and reflecting on the benefits that racial identity development brings to interracial client work.

Learning Outcomes

Understand what racial identity is and the importance of a healthy racial identity within therapeutic practice
Explore the concept of 鈥榚veryday friction鈥� as a way to develop personal racial identity
To identity some of the challenges and barriers to being able to establish and maintain interracial relationships.

Sarah Henry is a published author, racial identity specialist, Person-Centred counsellor and counselling tutor. She is a contributor to the book People Not Pathology: Freeing Therapy From The Medical Model (PCCS Books, 2023), with a chapter focused on the overmedicalisation of Black people. Sarah has presented nationally on the topic of race within the therapeutic relationship and has worked with providers such as University of Roehampton, Medico Digital, Counselling Tutor and OnlinEvents. Born in England to a Black British mother and Jamaican father, Sarah鈥檚 formative experience was a notable dynamic of complementary and clashing norms. Elements of this disparity continue into adulthood and inform her passion on understanding the lived experiences of racial identity and how this impacts everyday racial experiences.

Developing Cultural Attunement for supporting Ethical Anti-Oppressive Practice

10.50am 鈥� 11.50am

The session will introduce, identify and explore what cultural attunement is and its ethical and anti-oppressive difference from cultural competency. There will be a focus on identifying our intersectional selves and understanding identity in relationships.

The role, influence and impact of cultural closeness and cultural distance in the counselling process and therapeutic relationships will be discussed. This session will also explore how we understand, work with and develop cultural attunement in the counselling process and therapeutic relationships to offer an anti-oppressive approach and practice.

Learning Outcomes

understanding cultural attunement:
- participants will define and differentiate cultural attunement from cultural competency, emphasizing its ethical and anti-oppressive approach in counselling practices
exploration of intersectional identity:
- participants will explore how the configurations of identity influence their perspectives, process and relationships, within therapeutic settings
impact of cultural closeness and distance:
- participants will explore how cultural closeness and cultural distance affect therapeutic dynamics, processes and relationships, including trust-building, communication, identity and the client's sense of safety
application of cultural attunement in practice:
- participants will develop strategies for incorporating cultural attunement into counselling processes, fostering relationships grounded in an anti-oppressive approach

Myira Khan is a multi-award-winning Accredited Counsellor, Supervisor, Coach, Trainer, Founder of the Muslim Counsellor and Psychotherapist Network (MCAPN), and published author with Working Within Diversity 鈥� Anti-Oppressive Practice in Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Myira has over 15 years of clinical experience, alongside delivering workshops, trainings and events, including on Working Within Diversity and anti-oppressive practice.

Working Within Diversity, both the book and accompanying workshops, is a culmination of her clinical experience alongside extensive teaching and training experience delivering workshops on identity, culture and diversity, to create a robust foundation and framework for anti-oppressive practice in therapy, supervision, coaching and all practitioner-led practices.

A visibly Muslim, neurodivergent, ethnically-minoritized practitioner, Myira represents a diversity within the therapeutic and coaching professions, promoting counselling and coaching to ethnically-minoritized, Muslim and under-represented marginalised communities and clients.

For a full list of publications and media contributions, conference and event appearances, social media and podcast appearances, and awards, please see Myira鈥檚 website:听

Utilising white awareness to promote antiracism within counselling and psychotherapy education and practice

12.00pm - 1.00pm

This session will:

share the main findings of a doctoral thesis exploring the impact of whiteness within antiracist counselling and psychotherapy education
outline the practical Implications of these findings for the counselling and psychotherapy profession
provide examples to stimulate reflection and dialogue about ways of working that promote antiracist/anti-oppressive education and practice

Learning outcomes:

understand how unnamed/unconscious white identity can perpetuate harm and racial trauma for racially minoritised colleagues and clients
appreciate the ways that practitioners can educate themselves personally, professionally, and collectively about antiracist/anti-oppressive ways of working
be able to articulate what helps and what hinders white awareness and antiracism moving forward
develop a narrative within the profession that acknowledges anti-racism as a fundamental tenet of ethical practice

Frances Basset has worked for twenty years as a transpersonal psychotherapist and integrative supervisor and educator. She is a senior accredited member of the 麻豆原创 and has worked in both voluntary and private sectors. Frances鈥檚 doctoral research explores whiteness and white identity in the context of antiracist psychotherapy education.

Prior to her career as a psychotherapist, Frances worked as senior lecturer at the University of Brighton where she designed and led degree and master鈥檚 level courses/modules, some specifically on anti-oppressive practice across a range of health care professions. Frances currently co-facilitates 鈥楨xamining Whiteness鈥� groups in Brighton and Hove. These groups are open to all therapists who want to address the injustices and inequalities of racism within the profession. Frances is also the lead for a 鈥榃hite aware antiracist network鈥� (WAAN), a group of white practitioners/academics/writers and researchers who have come together to promote learning and activism for antiracism within the profession.

Contact at:
frances@bassetconsultancy.co.uk