Beginning to Confront Fragility
Written by John O’Brien
I am fragile. To write that is a profound disappointment; a disappointment that is deepened by a recognition of denial that masked this fragility for too long.
Over the past six years I have begun to understand the privilege of being white, male, and middle aged. Over the past six years I have begun to unwrap the harsh reality of the ways in which this privilege has perpetuated racism.
In her book So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo describes racism as “any prejudice against someone because of their race, when those views are reinforced by systems of power”. I realize that remaining ignorant to my advantages, failing to recognize my own microaggressions, and not demonstrating change only helps to perpetuate racism in my community and in this country.
About a year and a half ago I started to develop a position of race for my mental health therapy practice, Bloomington Mental Health Services. I asked one of my former professors from graduate school to assist in helping me create a cognizant statement. Creating this statement was uncomfortable most of the time. The resulting document expanded beyond my original intent; it became a guiding document for the practice, an Intentional Hiring Policy. I showed it to my spouse and a select few others before I hoped to post it to my website... And that’s where my fragility was hiding. It lept out and tossed a blanket over the putting-out-there of that statement. The blanket was a very well crafted one; soft -- not suffocating -- and comforting. It was reassuring to know that I did my work, that I understood my privilege, that I could talk intelligently about racism and my role in it. The personal process was uncomfortable and taxing, so, *whew*, time to sit back and feel good about putting myself in an uncomfortable position and coming out the other side feeling like a better person.
Now, on the other side of the murder of George Floyd, I know that I did not do much. Privilege allowed me to retreat from the uncomfortableness, to step back into the safety of my own life. By not putting my statement out there for others to see, I saved myself from criticism and feedback that deep down I was afraid of. Really afraid. I must now own the fear, the retreating into privilege, the residing in ignorance.
Revisiting the assumptions I used to have about race evokes feelings of shame. The myth of the Founding Fathers and the benevolent slave owner; the glossing over of the pervasiveness and cruelty of Jim Crow laws. These are all ideas that were in my head until too recently. I remember learning about the invention of the cotton gin, how the language was couched as driving economic development. The fact that the gin perpetuated slavery while whites benefited from the invention was not discussed, much less how those in the North benefited from the increased cotton production despite the North’s stance against slavery. My assumptions have persisted for too long.
There is no way to avoid the uncomfortableness when discussing race and racism. Not for me, not for any of us. But it certainly needs to be done. Now my work is to turn towards the shame, sadness, and anger regarding privilege; not to simply write something about it on my IPad in my conference room.
My statement, now up on the website, is as follows:
Racism is the root cause of disparities in our community. Racism is a public health crisis. Bloomington Mental Health (BMHS) is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We will continue to pursue our journey to be part of the community response to the public health crisis of racism.
Core Values:
To meet the needs of the people we serve
To meet the needs of the communities we work in
To employ the highest standards of professionalism with compassion
To recognize the human dignity of every person
BMHS Believes:
All clients have a racial and ethnic identity and all therapists have a racial and ethnic identity
Acknowledgment and understanding of client social context (e.g. poverty, unemployment, inequality, and oppression) and cultural issues in the therapeutic setting is part of the therapeutic process
We have an obligation to address racial differences and difficulties in the therapeutic setting
Racial and systemic trauma cannot be ignored in a therapeutic relationship
There are real differences in experiences and expectancies of clients from race and ethnicities other than our own. (Monica Williams, Ph.D)
We must recognize and address therapist racial, orientation, gender, and cultural issues within BMHS
We are committed to the ethical values of principles of our professions
Organizational Commitment
Hiring Policy:
BMHS is committed to:
· Retaining therapists to provide mental health services to diverse client populations;
· Giving clients a diversity of therapists to choose from;
· Retaining professionals that value:
o Sound and solid judgement
o Professional curiosity
o Courage
o Honesty
o Compassion
o Entrepreneurship
o A broad worldview
Intent
BMHS will hire therapists in order to provide choice to the clients of the organization. BMHS will offer the services and therapists that provide the greatest likelihood of participation and achievement of the client’s goal.
The Social Worker Code of Ethics dedicates the majority of its Ethical Standards to treatment of the client (Addendum 1).
In addition to the Code of Ethics, there is research that informs our policy. Published in Psychiatric Times in 1998, “Therapist-Patient Race and Sex Matching: Predictors of Treatment Duration,” Joseph A. Flaherty, MD and Susan Adams, PhD write that past research has shown that black clients were more likely to drop out after initial therapy session than white clients. However, according to Flaherty and Adams, this drop out rate can be attributed to black clients assigned to a therapist of a different race. When assigned to a black therapist, black clients were no more likely to drop out than white clients. We understand that racial matching is informative but not absolute.
Action Items
In a 2014 Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) LPC/LPCC Workforce Questionnaire (Addendum II), 94.9% of respondents identified themselves as White/Caucasian. Respondents could select as many races as applicable. Additionally, the survey showed that 81% of Minnesota mental health counselors are female. Providing the client choice that BMHS seeks will clearly require effort given the demographics of the workforce.
BMHS will outreach to the Community to locate qualified therapists who are people of color. This outreach will include but is not limited to Colleges offering MSW’s, trade associations, and social media groups.
BMHS will leverage social media to locate and communicate with qualified potential hires. This will also include those that could offer referrals for potential hires.
BMHS will continually identify, examine, and correct as necessary biases related to a candidate’s age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and other personal characteristics that are unrelated to a person’s job performance. This examination will be across marketing material, recruitment material, and policies and procedures.
Resources:
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) released the following statement from CEO Daniel H. Gillison, Jr., regarding recent racist incidents across the country and their impact on mental health. The statement reads, in part:
“The effect of racism and racial trauma on mental health is real and cannot be ignored. The disparity in access to mental health care in communities of color cannot be ignored. The inequality and lack of cultural competency in mental health treatment cannot be ignored.”
NAMI.org has an extensive list of resources that address the mental health needs of people of color.
Hennepin County passed a resolution declaring racism as a public health crisis (https://hennepin.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/CoverSheet.aspx?ItemID=9375&MeetingID=1020)
Resources for talking about race, racism, and racialized violence with kids: https://centerracialjustice.org/resources/resources-for-talking-about-race-racism-and-racialized-violence-with-kids/