Not too long ago, I naively thought I had a handle on diversity issues. In the 1960s, I started my career as the only white teacher in an all-black public school, then taught at the first integrated classroom in Louisville, KY. I passionately participated in the Civil Rights Movement of that era. And, my family is mixed race. But none of this experience safeguarded me from implicit bias or structural racism.  In preparing for a conference on culture a few years ago, I had to come to terms with the fact that I had limited awareness of white privilege, what it means to be a member of the dominant culture, privilege/oppression dynamics, or the implicit racial bias that is inherent in the US, in the world, and in my profession.

Here are a just a few of the sobering highlights of what I am still learning:

Many of the maps and models popular in therapeutic and medical communities, including those of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, are predominantly Eurocentric.

A focus on these maps and models conveys an unspoken, implicit conception that western culture and theory is the norm, and is better than other cultures. 

Western developmental models value an individual-centric rather than socio-centric culture, emphasize autonomy and differentiation over mutuality and interdependence, value a solitary sense of self rather than a group sense of self, and so forth.

In focusing only on European culture, the accomplishments and contributions of other cultures are diminished, ignored, dismissed, or even pathologized (personal communication Shelly Harrell, 2018).

Child development models I have learned and taught are Eurocentric, and my search for a model that is multicultural and inclusive has not been productive.

As a white person of privilege, I got a head start on success, and I enjoy the many advantages that I did not earn but ware unfairly given simply because I am white. 

As white person of privilege, I am not faced with, and therefore often not aware of, the constant disadvantages, microaggressions, implicit bias and institutionalized racism that marginalized people face every day, personally, professionally, in the media, and in political discourse—and in my, and our, professional contributions.  

Commitment to personal awareness and acknowledgement of my own implicit bias (which is inevitable given exposure to the injustices, past and present, small and large, that are part of the fabric of our society and our world) comes before knowledge, and knowledge before skill. 

What I have learned, and continue to learn, does not make implicit bias go away. I get called out often on my own ignorance and consequent microagressions and I am grateful for it. For example, a person of color informed me recently that is it offensive to use a beckoning motion in my work as a body psychotherapist without acknowledging how demeaning this gesture can be to colonized people who were beckoned by their oppressors to serve them. I try to be humble and welcome such discussions, and not fall back on white fragility with excuses like, “Oh, but I didn’t mean it like that.” I need to learn from such feedback because implicit bias is pervasive and my own lack of awareness can be damaging. 

But with more knowledge and awareness come more concerns. I have more questions than answers. Still, I strongly believe that, as a member of the dominant culture, I have the moral, personal and social responsibility to confront racist ideology in myself and educate myself. By doing this, I can begin to hold the space for these difficult conversations and, with my colleagues, begin to integrate an anti-racism, anti-oppression lens in the business practices and programs of the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute. It is a daunting endeavor, and we are just at the beginning. Unveiling the many inevitable and far reaching tendrils of racism and implicit bias is not an end-point, but an ongoing process that requires challenging oppression and racism in all its forms--personal, interpersonal, systemic, and cultural. Grappling with these issues in our work and teachings is essential. By doing so, we can become white allies to people of color, show up for social justice, and motivate others through our example.