A Phenomenology of Racism in Counselling and Psychotherapy

Using the experiential frameworks of phenomenology and existentialism, A Phenomenology of Racism in Counselling and Psychotherapy unveils the layers of relational intersectional racism which are embedded within our culture, and its many forms. This book recognizes that race in its origins was a social system built out of white European supremacy which held within itself both class and patriarchal structures. It examines the extensive layers of societally embedded racism from those more obvious and fueled by hate, to the covert but equally as psychologically destructive, to that which then becomes more deeply internalized by those seen as the racialized other. Theoretical explorations of how our early life experiences build our relational identity around race and the long-term internalized impacts of racism, be they neurological, psychological, or trauma-based sit central to this exploration. Utilizing personal and case material, Turner then details how working creatively with dreams and other means of accessing the unconscious can be essential pathways for counsellors, psychotherapists, and psychologists, as we work assist our clients (and ourselves) in working through the pain of the internalizations of racist experiences. This unique text is designed to assist professionals across the helping professions in understanding and working more wholly and effectively with the constructs of race and experiences of racism.