Linking social history and the therapeutic process in research and practice on black issues

This paper shares a first time experience of presenting a workshop at the 2002 BACP Research Conference. It highlights issues arising from the beginnings of research into the process of therapy in relation to black issues. The findings of two studies are reported in brief. Questions raised by workshop participants, and the low participation in the workshop session, are used as a means of illustrating the ambivalence that exists in the counselling and psychotherapy world in respect of this topic. It is argued that a historical perspective may assist the development of clinical responses to black issues, and that the effective exploration of black issues can be used as a vehicle to explore issues pertaining to all minority groups and their experiences.

Key words:

• Black issues
• counselling
• culture
• psychotherapy
• race