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[thread] People in psychology may wonder how the profession can reflect/exacerbate racist structures. They might think the problem must be with psychiatry, with "medical" diagnosis and ability to section (detain involuntarity in hospital). Below are some thoughts:/1
Psychologists see themselves and therapy as apolitical--I hear this often. As Cushman writes, psychologists think 'good therapy' = 'good politics', but dont realise they replicate (even endorse) status quo. Impt because psy disciplines reflects White middle-class as 'normality'/2
This then reflects in the therapy room, where political issues are 'psychologised'. Without overt discrimination, the therapy room itself performs a convenient political role in locating distress asso. with poverty, racism, etc, in the patient's mind. This is known. /3
But it's worse. Think of how we construe abnormality. Personality theories like to highlight ppl's 'sensitivity' and 'suspiciousness'. Now think of the great James Baldwin's "To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time."/4
Many psy professionals would pathologise Baldwin, and this isnt conjecture: anger towards the State is today, as it was historically, pathologised. This is esp obvious in Prevent, but Prevent is a symptom of the wider issues with 'psychologisation'--not the cause./5
I may even say therapists who doesn't explicitly position their therapy room/practice within wider community issues and movements, are possibly (unintentionally) replicating racist structures which seek to locate distress within ppl--to the exclusion of racist structures /end
