How much has the therapy profession confronted race in America? At what point do therapists need to join the conversation? And how might they do so?
In the following video clip from therapist Ken Hardy’s Networker Symposium address, “The View from Black America,” he makes a powerful call to action for therapists to address race in and outside of their offices.
As therapists, Ken says, we have a duty to give a voice to the voiceless and address race, no matter how uncomfortable it might be to do so. Taking this courageous step could make the difference between helping a client overcome their trauma and letting those who desperately need us as allies slip through the cracks.
“Our work is what we do to make sure that we leave this planet a little bit better, a little more advanced,” Hardy says. “So even if it isn’t your job, I hope you’d make talking about race your work.”
Kenneth V. Hardy
Kenneth V. Hardy, PhD, is President of the Eikenberg Academy for Social Justice and Clinical and Organizational Consultant for the Eikenberg Institute for Relationships in NYC, as well as a former Professor of Family Therapy at both Syracuse University, NY, and Drexel University, PA. He’s also the author of Racial Trauma: Clinical Strategies and Techniques for Healing Invisible Wounds, and The Enduring, Invisible, and Ubiquitous Centrality of Whiteness, and editor of On Becoming a Racially Sensitive Therapist: Race and Clinical Practice.
