Internalised Racism

Abstract

<jats:p>This article identifies and explores how the internalised racism of racial minority clients is identified and treated clinically by white psychotherapists. Four psychotherapists, who selfidentified as “white”, participated in semi-structured interviews, exploring their perceptions and understandings of how internalised racism and racism manifested within the clinical setting. The data from these interviews was analysed using thematic analysis and produced four main themes: manifestations of internalised racism and racism in therapy, disidentification, therapist’s explicitness, and connection to culture. These themes were supported and anchored by four sub-themes. The themes represent a therapeutic process of: emergence, understanding, intervention and aim. The emergence of racism and internalised racism in therapy describes both the clients’ and the psychotherapists’ experiences of internalised racism and racism as it emerges in the therapeutic encounter. Dis-identification captures the psychotherapists’ understanding of internalised racism operating as their minority clients’ dis-identification with their racial and cultural heritage. Therapist’s explicitness identifies a therapeutic intervention, the psychotherapist’s communication to their minority clients about the racial differences between them. And finally, connection to culture captures the psychotherapist’s therapeutic aim of encouraging a connection to racial and cultural heritage as a protective factor against racism and emotional and psychological difficulties.&#x0D; Whakarāpopotonga&#x0D; E tautuhi e tūhura ana tēnei tuhinga pēhea ai te tautuhi te whakaora a ngā kaiwhakaora hinengaro kirimā i te aukatinga iwi ā-roto o ngā kiritaki tokoiti. Tokowhā ngā kaiwhakaora hinengaro, whakatau “kirimā”, i uru mai ki ngā uiuinga kōkau, e tūhura ana i ō rātau whakaaro, mātauranga hoki he pēhea te putanga mai o te aukatinga iwi ā-roto i waenga i te nōhanga haumanu. I whāia te aromatawaihanga kaupapa hai aromatawai i te raraunga o ēnei uiuinga, ā, e whā ngā kaupapa i puta ake: ngā tohu o te aukatinga iwi ā-roto me te aukati iwi i roto i te haumanu, te tuakiri-ui, te mārama o te kaihaumanu me te here ki te ahurea. E whā ngā kaupapa huiroto tuatoko, taunaki hoki i ēnei kaupapa. He kanohitanga ēnei kaupapa i te tukanga haumanu o te: pueatanga, te māramatanga, te whakaurutanga me te whāinga. Te pueatanga ake o te aukatinga iwi me te aukatinga iwi ā-roto i rō haumanutanga e whakaāhua ana i te whaiaro aukatinga iwi ā-roto me te aukatinga iwi hoki o te kiritaki rāuatahi ko te kaiwhakaora hinengaro i te wā haumanutanga. E mau ana i te tuakiri-ui te tirohanga a ngā kaiwhakaora hinengaro o te aukatinga iwi ā-roto whakamahia ai hai tuakiri-whakaui pānga iwi, tuakiri-whakaui ahurea o ō rātau kiritaki tokoiti. He whakaaturanga haumanu aukati te whakamārama koi ā ngā kaihaumanu, ko te whakatau a te kaiwhakaora hinengaro ki ā rātau kiritaki tokoiti mō te rerekētanga iwi i waenga i a rātau. I te mutunga, ko te here ki te ahurea e hopu ana i te whāinga haumanu ā te kaiwhakaora hinengaro, arā ki te whakatenatena herenga tuku iho ā-iwi, ā-ahurea hai mea haumarutanga atu i te aukatinga iwi, whakararutanga kare ā-roto, hinengaro.</jats:p>

Perceived discrimination of Māori and Pacific employees in Aotearoa/New Zealand: work and well-being consequences and testing the symbolic interaction perspective

“…This lack of workplace evidence is despite verification that M aori employees face cultural demands in the Aotearoa/New Zealand workplace that appear unique (see Haar and Martin, 2022) and face discrimination in general (e.g. Ellis, 2021). Overall, the present study found workplace discrimination levels that were similar between M aori and Pacific employees (M 5 2.33 v. 2.38).…”

“…However, empirical workplace evidence is limited in Aotearoa/New Zealand, despite media reports of racism against M aori (e.g. Ellis, 2021) and Pacific peoples (Carroll, 2021). While a metaanalysis exists around the detrimental impact of workplace discrimination on work and wellbeing outcomes (Dhanani et al, 2018), there is a lack of empirical evidence of workplace perceived discrimination from New Zealand minorities.…”

“…However, the evidence in Aotearoa/New Zealand workplaces is sparse. This lack of workplace evidence is despite M aori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa/New Zealand, and Pacific employees (typically from neighboring Pacific Islands), both generally reporting high levels of discrimination (see Ellis, 2021;Carroll, 2021). Indeed, specific cultural challenges in the workplace have been reported by M aori professionals (see Haar and Martin, 2022).…”