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Creating the Future:

Creating the Future:. Practicing Feminist Multicultural Therapy in Conservative Environments. Working Group Facilitators. Emma Mansour Elizabeth Gosset William Elder Lynette Averill Sue Morrow University of Utah. Working Group Members. Jenny Arm Jill Barber Andy Case Linda Castillo

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Creating the Future:

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  1. Creating the Future: Practicing Feminist Multicultural Therapy in Conservative Environments

  2. Working Group Facilitators Emma Mansour Elizabeth Gosset William Elder Lynette Averill Sue Morrow University of Utah

  3. Working Group Members • Jenny Arm • Jill Barber • Andy Case • Linda Castillo • Monica Cowart • Krista Curl • Telsie Davis • William Elder • Victoria Frehe • Valerie Ignatenko • Roseanne Illes • Maureen Lafferty • Teri Madura • Emma Mansour • Crystale Marsh • Susan Mathews • A.J. Metz • Sue Morrow

  4. More Working Group Members • Soumya Palreddy • Diana Schofield • Amanda Smith • Erin Snyder • Sue Trotner • David Whitcomb • In Absentia: • Lynette Averill • Elizabeth Gosset

  5. Agenda • Day 1 • Introductions, Contexts, & Working Definitions of Feminist Multicultural Work • Focus Groups: Challenges to Conducting FMC in Conservative Environments • Day 2 • Strategies for Addressing Challenges to Conducting FMC in Conservative Environments • Recommendations/ Action Steps/ Projects

  6. Components of FMT • Social advocacy ~ using our positions of privilege & power to advocate for those who are oppressed • Collaborative process • Co-creating • Commitment to the eliminating oppression • Empowering the freedom to choose • Trusting ;yourself, using your voice

  7. Components of FMT (Continued) • Pain is a symptom that something needs to change • Context • Truly embracing diversity, beyond tolerance • Validating people’s pain, issues • Open minded exploration • Affirming people as they are • Client as functioning person, trust coping strategies, resilience

  8. Components of FMC (Con’t.) • Each individual as multidimensional • Political analysis • Understanding cultural values, beliefs, and behaviors from a political context • Viewing people from a multifaceted context, each person is a multicultural person • Recognizing double binds, how privilege wounds everyone

  9. Components of FMC (Con’t.) • Paying attention to power dynamics and differentials, assessing who benefits • Intersectionality • Embracing the complexity and contradictions of feminism and multiculturalism • It’s okay to say, “That was wrong!” • Naming what is wrong/ what we are doing

  10. What Are the Challenges? • Being the token liberal in a context • Support networks/ structures may be scarce • With clients, dealing with racism/ sexism/ etc • Collective self-pity • Radicalism is tamed • How much power can you display? • How much empowerment to facilitate with clients/ students? • Naming what you are doing, naming the oppression

  11. What Are the Challenges? • Where you can reasonably intervene given oppressive forces (systemic, poverty, etc.) • As students/ new professionals, what happens when we work in a FMC framework but faculty/supervisors do not? • When those in power talk the talk and don’t walk the walk • Clients in struggle related to cultural beliefs vs empowerment • Dealing with anger in an empowering way • Being patient with baby steps

  12. What Are the Challenges? • Breaking the barrier of distrust in communities • Conflict between culture of profession and personal culture • Lack of power, formal and informal • Misunderstanding of what feminism and multiculturalism really means • Generational issues ~ young women and feminism • Lack of safe environment • Limited resources and personal power to make change

  13. What Are the Challenges? • People believing they’re multicultural or feminist when they’re not ~ “It’s in our mission statement!” • Socialization to view self as source of the problem • Finding the right words in the moment in the face of ignorance • Overt and covert intimidation • Double message: Actions don’t match values • Personal and professional risks to advocating • Negative reactions to identifying publicly as a feminist

  14. What Are the Challenges? • Balancing professional lifestyle with personal values • Struggle with being privileged and oppressed at the same time • Sharing power (we’re not stealing it!) • Finding balance between our vision and our reality, pacing of moving forward • Coping with hopelessness, isolation, burnout • Ways to find our voice in any given situation that is not received as criticism, uncollegiality, creating distance

  15. Strategies • Mentoring from outside environment, ½ a generation above you • To be hopeless is to dishonor those who have gone before” Cris Williamson • Thinking outside the box; finding creative solutions • Ask, “Do I have the energy for this?” Being intentional, choosing your battles; you don’t have to go to battle every time • You need a variety of mentors ~ patchwork

  16. Strategies • As a member of one minority group that is oppressing another group, choosing ways to educate without alienating those you need for support • Networking to maintain support • Educating self and others as ongoing process & responsibility • When advocating, monitor own defenses to stay open • Political advocacy needs to happen on a number of levels

  17. Strategies • When there is a lack of diversity, bring resources in that will expose people to other cultures • Helping others to develop empathy • Identifying where the other person is in her/his own stage of identity and what they need for support and change • Being persistent • Know there will be discouragement and apparent lack of progress; use support systems • Initiating dialogues; be proactive, not reactive

  18. Strategies • Look at what you have achieved • Advocate on a daily basis • Be patient with the process • When dealing with racist/sexist comments • Ask for clarification • Give yourself transition time • Transitional statements: “I’m having a strong reaction . . . “; “I’m going to take a risk there

  19. Strategies • Validate your anger, present it in a productive way • Consult with colleagues before going into tricky situations • Having daily mottos, sayings, etc. to put on your door, book, etc. to have daily in your life to remind you of your support systems • Recognize that even the little things are forms of resistance • Audre Lorde: “I consider every act of care I do for my body as a political act.”

  20. Strategies • Support and networking, support in our communities outside the university • Be assertive • Permission to not be perfect, know we will make mistakes • Challenge our own socialization • Knowing and understanding efficacy research re: FMC • Conduct research on FMC

  21. Strategies • Develop language to communicate your own FMC perspective in a respectful way • Just sing a song (freedom songs) ~ music as a strategy • Performance art • Establish interdisciplinary relationships • Do things that re-energize you, activist work outside • Self care • Learn how to engage others in the process of understanding FMC, in dialogue

  22. Next Steps & Opportunities for Involvement • Blog • Conversation hour at APA re: challenges, support, strategies/ panel discussion ~ presentation from this working group for Toronto • MORE PIE conversation hour!!! • Publishing • Distribution list • Find ways to be inclusive of people who might otherwise not join us in this work

  23. Contact Information for Getting Involved • Emma Mansour ~ emmamansour@hotmail.com • Elizabeth Gosset ~ elizabethgosset@msn.com • William Elder ~ william.elder@utah.edu • Lynette Averill ~ averill.psych@utah.edu • Sue Morrow ~ sue.morrow@utah.edu University of Utah ~ Ed Psych 1705 E Campus Center Dr Rm 327 Salt Lake City UT 84112-9255

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