Perceptions and Attitudes of Psychotherapists Towards Reports of Racism Experienced by Black Patients

International studies on racist manifestations in the psychological clinic have documented that at least half of professionals would racially attack their patients. This study questions whether Brazilian psychologists and psychotherapists would be prepared to address Black people’s experiences of racism and the resulting suffering. This study aimed to understand whether psychotherapists can recognize situations of racism and racial suffering and what their attitudes in the face of these occurrences. The sample consisted of 163 psychotherapists who were invited to participate in an online task in which the participants had to answer “Yes” or “No” to the question “As a therapist, could you say something like that in a similar situation?” in the face of simulated scenarios in which parts of psychotherapy sessions were described in which Black patients reported experiences of racism or suffering resulting from situations of racism to psychotherapists, who were then to respond to patients’ demand. Participants were randomly assigned responses belonging to three groups: neutral/assertive, microaggressive, and explicitly racist. The responses were quantitatively explored in percentages. The elucidations about the proposed task were also qualitatively explored based on the justification they offered for acting or not in the described way. The results showed that one in three participants could have more implicit or unconscious racist behavior and that the type of aggression (more or less explicit) varied according to the gender of the Black person who was being treated in the simulated scenario.

Keywords:
Clinical Psychology; Psychotherapy; Mental health; Racial Microaggressions; Racism