Oppression and Anti-oppression in Clinical Psychology

Abstract

Traditional clinical psychology programs do not require anti-oppression training or specific social justice and empowerment practices, compared to some social work and counseling programs. Therefore, it follows that clinical psychology students, faculty, and practitioners rarely know how or when to address oppression with diverse groups and within diverse contexts. The current pilot study represents initial steps towards developing anti-oppression training for clinical psychologists and trainees, grounded in the bystander intervention theory by Latané and Darley (1970). The first major step was to conduct in-depth interviews to qualitatively explore how clinical psychologists and trainees’ have witnessed, experienced, and/or perpetuated oppression in clinical psychology settings (classroom, supervision, and therapy settings); and, based on their experiences, what are suggestions towards anti-oppression. This first step informs anti-oppression training goals and content. The second major step was to survey a diverse range of clinical psychologists and trainees from across the United States — such as graduate student trainees, faculty members, and practicing clinicians — to also quantitatively assess to what extent they have witnessed, experienced, and/or perpetuated oppression in their field as well as assess the acceptability and feasibility of anti-oppression training in clinical psychology. This step further informs anti-oppression training goals as well as structure. This research is important, because, while the literature may support the need for anti-oppression training, the prospective trainees and training programs must also acknowledge this need to initiate training implementation and success. Results showed that among clinical psychologists and trainees in the sample (N = 51), the majority reported witnessing and personally experiencing oppression, and a little less than a quarter reported perpetuating oppression in clinical psychology settings. Additionally, the majority of participants reported high perceived responsibility, yet relatively low confidence in their current skills to address oppression. Furthermore, participants reported substantial acceptability and perceived need for anti-oppression training while also providing several suggestions on what anti-oppression training can look like (i.e., decentering whiteness, learning how to identify oppression, role playing on how to address oppression, etc.). While additional research may be needed, study results can inform future training for clinical psychologists and trainees to become active bystanders in anti-oppression praxis.