Understanding the lived experience of therapeutic stress from the perspective of Therapists of Colour
The role of a therapist (in this instance - Counsellor, Psychotherapist or Art Therapist) is multifaceted, complex and rewarding, requiring the therapist to engage in continuous self-exploration and clinical reflection, while simultaneously working alongside distressed clients and managing workplace protocols.
These may all be aspects that pose additional stress upon a therapists鈥� well-being. Stress in this instance may be categorised by overexposure to occupational stress, such as high workload, role ambiguity and limited support systems, which leaves the individual experiencing fatigue, dissatisfaction and dissociation in both the personal and professional aspects of their life.
Whilst all therapists can experience stressors when delivering a mental health therapeutic role, the basis of the current study is to examine the experiences of Therapists of Colour (ToC) and the potential of any additional stressors that ToC鈥檚 may experience, such as discrimination. Discrimination may present in differing forms; covert and insidious or overt and systemic.
Research into ToC Stress highlights the following recommendations; there exists limited supporting literature specifically in the therapeutic field (Counsellors, Psychotherapists and Art Therapists in the UK). That conducting a study using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) could prove beneficial in understanding the lived experience. The studies were mostly conducted in North America and largely with Black communities.
I plan on using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), to gain a greater understanding of Therapists of Colour lived experiences. Individual one-to-one interviews lasting 45mins will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams (from my university account). I will utilise a semi-structured interview technique to ensure the topic is explored widely, while still allowing the participants the freedom to talk about their experience as they wish. Online interviews, Microsoft Teams will only audio record the meeting and provide a transcript, which I will check to ensure that it has been transcribed verbatim.
If you are willing to take part or would like more information please email Raikha Masih, Email: rm1085@canterbury.ac.uk听
Please see leaflet here.