Through a Glass Darkly: A Personal Journey toward Psychoanalytic Training Through the Contemporary Prism of Race, Diversity, and Inclusion

Abstract

The paper describes my personal journey toward psychoanalytic training amidst the heightened political and cultural polarization of race and ethnicity. As a “woman of color,” I highlight the individual and institutional contradictions I encountered during my graduate studies in social work and in my exposure to the culture of two psychoanalytic training institutes. In both settings, aggressively deployed diversity initiatives intended to increase openness and inclusiveness and implement antiracist agendas often result in ideological rigidity and are antithetical to the crucial value of critical listening that is the foundation of any generative clinical encounter. These initiatives not only have the potential to erode the intellectual integrity of institutions devoted to learning, they can unwittingly reaffirm a racist narrative and further entrench the division between races.

Keywords:

• psychoanalytic training
• race
• diversity initiatives
• antiracist
• institutional racism

Notes

1 It is not within the scope of this paper to elaborate on DiAngelo’s intentions, but merely to point out that her revolutionary ideas have come with great financial benefit and professional prestige, such that acknowledging the nuance and complexity of her directives—or that they can very easily be recruited as self-serving platforms—can be in direct conflict with the capitalistic structure upon which she is now dependent.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yuen Chan

Yuen Chan, LCSW, is a graduate (2019) of the Silberman School of Social Work Masters Program, where she was awarded the prestigious Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence in All Academic Fields. Her master’s thesis focused on the campus culture wars and the culture of victimhood. She is a first year candidate in the adult program at the Institute of Psychoanalytic Training and Research (IPTAR).