When a Black client walks through the door of a therapist’s office, they do not come alone. Along with them come the spirits and stories of their ancestry, eager to be heard, understood, and honored.
The therapist must make space to welcome the traumas of slavery – the severing of tribes, languages, and customs; the horrors of the Middle Passage; the beatings and rapes on plantations.
The therapist must help bear witness to centuries of broken promises of freedom and equality, from Emancipation to the Civil Rights Movement.
The spirits want to speak of the violence, discrimination, and dehumanization that lingers still today.
These ancestral voices wish to share the complexity of the Black experience – the perseverance, resistance, love of family, and pursuit of joy alongside the pain.
They want the therapist to grasp that when one Black person sits on the couch, they represent generations.
The role of the therapist is not to heal, but to facilitate healing; not to play God, but to awaken the client’s own wisdom and strength.
This requires cultural humility, attunement, and a commitment to social justice. The therapist must approach issues contextually, honoring clients’ differences, assets, and values.
By welcoming the entirety of Black clients’ stories into the therapeutic space, therapists help clients integrate their past and reclaim their power in the present.
When the doorway is open wide enough, therapy becomes a conduit for both healing and justice.
Honoring this request may appear to be a daunting task for clinicians; however, the literature suggests that there are ways to consider the personal circumstances, differences, and values of African American clients.
Blessings,
Dr. Paula
