Understanding Therapists’ Experiences of Working with Black Clients Presenting with Race-Based Traumatic Stress: A Qualitative Study

Studies indicate a link between experiences of racism and psychological distress and trauma. Most of these findings are based on correlational studies from the United States (US). There is a significant lack of research from the United Kingdom (UK), predominantly qualitative research, examining how these experiences are addressed within psychological services. This thesis attempts to honour the voices of therapists of clients who have endured Race-Based Traumatic Stress (RBTS) and seeks to make a modest contribution to the limited literature concerning UK therapists’ experiences of working with racial trauma. This research adopted a relativist stance within a constructivist paradigm, drawing upon the principles of Critical Race Theory (CRT), intersectionality, and Cultural Humility (CH) as potential frameworks to explore and possibly illuminate the complex nature of racial phenomena within the UK context. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was employed to explore the lived experiences of eight therapists working with Black clients presenting with RBTS. Participants were recruited via social media and participated in semi-structured virtual interviews.

Five Group Experiential Themes (GET) were identified: (1) Navigating the Uncharted: Recognition, Understanding, and Addressing Racial Trauma in Professional Practice; (2) Navigating Therapists’ Intersections of Race, Personal Experiences, and Professional Practice in Therapy; (3) It’s Not My Place to Bring it Up; (4) Inadequacy of the Systemic Response to Racial Trauma in Education and Mental Health Services; and (5) Navigating Racial Dynamics in Professional Spaces. These GETs detailed participants’ lived experiences, recognising, addressing, and navigating often uncomfortable racial dynamics in therapy, as well as the gaps in the therapists’ training, and finally managing the challenging intersection of the participants’ racial identities, personal experiences and professional roles.

The study findings highlight a cycle wherein inadequate training for professional counsellors could contribute to cultural incompetency, often leading to the under-recognition, misdiagnosis, avoidance and/or minimisation of racial trauma. This dynamic may perpetuate the distress experienced by Black clients, highlighting the urgent need for systemic change in training and practice.