Therapists Challenging Racism and Oppression

This is a book about racism and its intersections with other forms of oppression within the talking therapies, told from the therapist’s perspective. Inside are powerful, first-person accounts of the often traumatising silencing of counsellors of colour within, and by, their own profession. These are searingly honest and rarely detailed stories of practitioners being shamed, excluded, violated, rendered invisible and deeply wounded by their experiences in training and in practice. But they are also stories of strength, courage, resourcefulness and growth. Some therapists may find deep recognition and affirmation in these accounts, as well as hope and healing. Others may better understand how their own fragility and bias have led them to similar behaviours and harmful mistakes. The book compellingly captures the nuances and fractures of racial and intersectional trauma and illustrates many of the damaging ways that conscious and unconscious ideas of race, and other aspects of personhood, are still woven into society. This is an essential read that brings together personal, psychological, societal and political insights to better imagine and further the discourse around what might facilitate meaningful change.

Author Biography

About the editors – Rachel Jane Cooke (she/they) is a queer, integrative psychotherapist, supervisor and educator from Ireland, in practice since 2009. She is based in London, runs an online therapy platform (p-therapy.com), consults to charities and social enterprises, and has a long-standing weekly radio segment on sex and relationships, where she often discusses identity, privilege and oppression. She regularly speaks on podcasts and hosts talks and workshops for the public, for therapists and for organisations on topics such as intersectionality, trauma, attachment, health and wellness under neoliberalism, embodiment, feminist therapy and gender, sexuality and relationship diversity. Rachel is passionate about training therapists committed to social justice, particularly through embodied and relational practice. You can read more about her work at racheljanecooke.com. – Neelam Zahid is an integrative counsellor, psychotherapist and clinical supervisor accredited by the BACP. She has practised as a therapist since 2003, having previously worked in higher education for more than a decade, and currently has her own private practice. She is also the deputy course Leader for the Foundation year at the Minster Centre and teaches on the Introduction to Counselling Skills course. In addition, she is currently a visiting lecturer at the University of Westminster, teaching on the BSc Psychology and Counselling and Introduction to Counselling Skills courses. Her areas of interest are intersectionality, difference and diversity and she has contributed to several publications, including The Handbook of Transcultural Counselling and Psychotherapy (2001) and Black Identities + White Therapies: Race, respect + diversity (2021).