Addressing Internalized Racialized Oppression Within Counseling

Historical legacies for social acceptance in the United States have been attributed to hurtful legacies of Americanization, Anglo-conformity and assimilation. To acquire national belonging, both racialized minoritized groups and immigrants have had to discard their language, culture and identity. Such insidious ideologies have been normalized intergenerationally in the deculturalization of ethnic groups through agents of socialization such as schools and mental health. Thus, it is imperative to self-reflect on ideologies deriving from such socio-historical epoch in cultivating a strong, healthy sense of place/belonging and therapeutic relationship. The purpose of this workshop is to facilitate a dialogue on addressing internalized oppression and its effects on the sense of place/belonging for historically oppressed ethnic/racialized/minoritized clients and counselors. Particularly how regularly invalidating, demeaning, or suppressing one’s or other marginalized groups’ heritage, identity, self-worth, and human rights further normalizes internalized oppression. The framework for such dialogue is embedded in counseling self-reflective methodologies and racial/ethnic identities…