Navigating Dual Realities: The Experience of Double Consciousness in Black Therapists

AI Summary

Double consciousness shapes Black therapists' professional racial subjectivity, producing perceived inferiority, marginalisation, and tensions between authenticity and professional identity.
Experiences in training, supervision, academia and clinical practice reveal mistrust, suspicion, and invisibility that complicate therapeutic relationships and career progression.
Recommendations emphasise therapist self-care, culturally attuned supervision, and curriculum reform to address systemic marginalisation and support authentic Black clinician development.

AI Summary

This study explores the experiences of Black mental health clinicians navigating double consciousness through a theoretical synthesis of W.E.B.

Furthermore, the study explored the various ways double consciousness influences Black mental health clinicians' interactions during academic learning, professional training, within clinical settings, encounters with professors, clients, supervisors, and colleagues.

The results of the data analysis of 12 semi-structured interviews with Black therapists revealed main themes such as perceived inferiority, marginalization of Black therapist experience, authenticity and identity navigation, and mistrust and suspicion about being a Black therapist.

Basic summary

J Marital Fam Ther. 2026 Jul;52(3):e70157. doi: 10.1111/jmft.70157.

ABSTRACT

This study explores the experiences of Black mental health clinicians navigating double consciousness through a theoretical synthesis of W.E.B. Du Bois’ double consciousness, Frantz Fanon’s racial inferiority complex, and Cross’s Black racial identity development theory. The focus of this study was how dual awareness manifests through racial subjectivity within the professional context for Black clinicians. Furthermore, the study explored the various ways double consciousness influences Black mental health clinicians’ interactions during academic learning, professional training, within clinical settings, encounters with professors, clients, supervisors, and colleagues. The results of the data analysis of 12 semi-structured interviews with Black therapists revealed main themes such as perceived inferiority, marginalization of Black therapist experience, authenticity and identity navigation, and mistrust and suspicion about being a Black therapist. Recommendations for the self of the therapist, supervision, and academic training programs are discussed.

PMID:42411023 | DOI:10.1111/jmft.70157

Document this CPD