Racial Literacy

Our Humanity in a Racialized Society: Professional Development for Helping People

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Developing a healthy concept of ourselves and engaging in meaningful relationships are severely damaged in a racialized society. Finding our humanity requires understanding and un-doing the racialization process.

Kathleen Isaac PhD, CGP is a licensed clinical psychologist who directs a mental health program at a medical school in NYC and runs a small virtual private practice. She offers trauma-focused and culturally-informed psychotherapy, racial literacy consultation, clinical supervision and education.

Christine Schmidt LCSW, CGP is a psychotherapist in private practice in Brooklyn, New York, a mediator, and an educational consultant. She has published about psychological dynamics racism with particular focus on the impact of whiteness.

This 6-session blended didactic and experiential group will explore racial socialization processes for people of diverse racial identities. We will examine how systems of racial oppression impact our relationships with one another and with ourselves. We welcome helping professionals from diverse backgrounds who are committed to self-reflection and engagement with others. The facilitators will support the group to strengthen personal and professional self-confidence to confront racism.

For Further information: www.racialliteracygroups.com

Our differentiated fees reflect our commitment to address historical racial inequity for services. Scholarships are available.

CGPS Fall 2021 Online Workshop

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Join Brandon Diggs Williams, LCSW and Vincent Malik Dehili PhD, CGP on October 16th and 17th for their Fall workshop: Untying the Strings of Racism and Oppression: Raising Awareness and Honoring Socio-Cultural Threads Throughout Group Therapy. Sessions will be held 10:00am – 6:45pm on Saturday, and 10:00am – 6:30pm on Sunday.

This workshop seeks to shed light on the covert cognitive and emotional strings of oppression and racism that suffocate us, the community of the United States. These strings serve as barriers to us unifying holistically and recognizing that our differences do not negate that we are interconnected. Our aim is to help group members claim their humanity and love in the face of the systemic racism that plagues our society. More than anything, we hope that group members leave our conference recognizing their individual power and implication in the fight against racism.

At the end of the workshop participants will be able to do the following:

1. Discuss ways in which socio-cultural transference from systemic oppression impacts individual members within the group.

2. Practice concrete methods to set a frame for discussions of diversity within group therapy to move towards non-discrimination.

3. Review challenges of emotional avoidance that occur when discussing race in group therapy.

4. Address feelings of shame through self-disclosure and how to honor storytelling and personal narratives.

5. Change the emotional narratives of at least 5 specific emotion states to depersonalize blame and decrease defensiveness in racial dialogues.

6. Identify several adaptations made to protect ourselves from recognizing the dehumanization of black people in the United States and its parallel impact on group process.

Pricing:
CGPS Current Member: $250
Non-members: $325

CGPS Student Member: $125
Non-member students: $150

Click here to view the workshop agenda.

Click here for more information on CEU’s, potential scholarships, and to register.

Racial Literacy Consultation Group: Professional Development for Helping People

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Join April Harvin and Christine Schmidt for their six-week workshop on developing racial literacy. This group is designed to equip heling people (therapists and other caretakers) to understand and respond to the dynamics implicit in internalized racial oppression, racialized sexual fantasies, racial identity concerns, colorism, privilege, and disempowerment.

Participants will leave this group being able to more honestly examine race-related issues and show up in the workplaces as a better ally and more confident caregiver/coworker.

Participants will be invited to:

– identify their personal and professional development goals for the duration of the group and

– bring in examples from their professional, personal, and community experiences, with particular attention to dilemmas in which societal stereotypes as well as familial re-enactments occur.

Group leaders will provide brief didactic presentations that incorporate best practices in alignment with participants’ goals.

The Racial Literacy Consultation Group meets six Fridays, September 10 – October 15, 2021

Where: on Zoom

When: 9:30am-11am EST, 8:30am-10am CST, 6:30am-8am PST

Fee: $570 ($95/session) for white-identified participants

$300 ($50/session) black-identified and other POC’s.

Our differentiated fees reflect our commitment to addressing racial inequity in access to services. Scholarships are available.

Click here for more information

Contact April Harvin (aprilharvin.lcsw@gmail.com) or Christine Schmidt (cschmidt535@gmail.com) to register.

A note on the organizers:

April Harvin, LCSW is a psychotherapist in private practice in New York City. She also provides clinical administrative leadership for private and public entities, clinical supervision to individual psychotherapists, and provides consultation to organizations and groups committed to becoming anti-racist in their practices.

Christine Schmidt LCSW, CGP is a psychotherapist in private practice in Brooklyn, New York, a mediator, and an educational consultant. She has published about psychological dynamics racism with particular focus on the impact of whiteness.