Eugene Ellis - Investigating Race and the Gaze of Society in Therapy, The Race Conversation
“I have met many other people from different racialized identities, whose work that they've done in the world and on themselves has given me hope.” - Eugene Ellis
If you’re a white therapist, it’s easy to fall down a rabbit hole trying to reconcile all the work we need to do regarding power dynamics within our field. However, we, as white folks, are rarely required to explore our relationship to our whiteness. That’s what I’m talking about today with Eugene Ellis, the UK-based psychotherapist, speaker, director of the Black, African, and Asian Therapy Network (BAATN), and author of the transformative book The Race Conversation (soon to be republished in the US).
Eugene’s “therapist origin story” is a perfect example of white therapists' potential to be agents of support for People of Color. This is only possible when we understand our potential to be active agents of hurt. Eugene remembers the moment that inspired him to find a therapist. “I didn’t feel very connected to people or the world.” He did, however, connect with a white woman therapist from South Africa. “She would say things like, ‘Have you considered that you're a Black man living in London [and] that is in the mix of your experience?’ I hadn't really dug in deep,” he recalls. “And, of course, that was a big part of my experience.”
Personal breakthroughs often lead to revised professional calling. Eugene now advocates for ending racism or, at least, requiring more racially aware training (something I have been screaming out for as well!) “They want to go back to family and early attachments. That's great,” says Eugene, “but there's also an attachment or lack thereof to society itself and the the gaze of society as opposed to the gaze of the parent.”
Ohhhh the gaze of society, a white, patriarchical-filtered lens that rarely shifts its focus inward. “One of the challenges to ending racism is the idea of whiteness or white identity being investigated,” Eugene explains. “There's a risk for people of color to challenge white people because if their relationship changes, you know who gets the sharp end of the stick.”
So the call to reflection: Do you want to be an agent of harm or help? The choice belongs to all of us, and we all have the capability to do both. From my own experience, and what Eugene also touts is self-compassion. Self-compassion allows us to see some of the sticker bits so we can free up our capacity to help!
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GUEST CONTACT AND BIO
Eugene Ellis, psychotherapist, writer, and public speaker, has dedicated 20 years as the director and founder of the Black, African, and Asian Therapy Network, specializing in therapeutic work with Black, African, Caribbean, and South Asian individuals. Author of 'The Race Conversation' (2021), he delves into the intersection of race and trauma, non-verbal communication, and navigating oppressive patterns. Co-editor of 'Therapy In Colour' (2023), Eugene contributes to articulating new theoretical perspectives for therapists, both white and of colour, supporting therapy through an intersectional lens.
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