Doing Intersectionality in Social Justice Oriented Clinical Training

Social justice oriented clinical training is endorsed in a number of fields. We provide findings from a study examining the integration of intersectionality theory into social justice oriented clinical training for graduate students, centering Black feminist work as the prototype. Master's stud...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Training and education in professional psychology 2020-05, Vol.14 (2), p.109-115
Main Authors: Brinkman, Britney G, Donohue, Patricia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Black People
Clinical Psychology Graduate Training
Counseling Psychology
Cultural Sensitivity
Female
Feminism
Graduate Students
Human
Intersectionality
Knowledge Level
Male
Social Justice
Student Attitudes
Test Construction
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Summary:Social justice oriented clinical training is endorsed in a number of fields. We provide findings from a study examining the integration of intersectionality theory into social justice oriented clinical training for graduate students, centering Black feminist work as the prototype. Master's students in a counseling psychology program (38 students; 32 female, 6 male; 29 first year, 9 second year; 33 White Non-Hispanic, 3 African American, 1 multiracial, 1 other race/ethnicity), completed surveys on the first and last days of class to examine their multicultural competence and their knowledge and attitudes regarding intersectionality. Results of the qualitative analysis suggest that most students are unfamiliar with intersectionality theory. Students with prior knowledge of intersectionality focused on its application to clients as individuals, rather than addressing systemic issues related to social identities, power, and privilege. We offer recommendations for integrating intersectionality in clinical training by (a) recognizing subjectivity as unfixed, (b) emphasizing critical self-reflection and relationality, and (c) teaching centering and decentering as a crucial action and practice of intersectional work. Public Significance Statement This article describes an approach to social justice oriented clinical training, which emphasizes the practice of intersectionality. Data suggest that graduate students in counseling programs may not be familiar with intersectionality theory, and those who are focused primarily on its individual application to clients.
ISSN:1931-3918
1931-3926
DOI:10.1037/tep0000274