Psychotherapy and Social Justice: A Dialogue on Othering and Belonging

“Race is a little bit like gravity,” says john a. powell: “experienced by all, understood by the few.” The Psychotherapy Institute is honored to present as our featured speaker at this year’s Fall Symposium, renowned social justice advocate john a. powell. Race is relational, Professor powell reminds us. It’s as much about whiteness as about color, and it largely plays out, as we’re learning through new science, in our unconscious minds. Culled from a decade of writing about social justice and spirituality, Professor powell will share his ideas on race and identity. He will focus on ‘othering and belonging’ as a framework for exploring core mind science concepts such as implicit bias, racial anxiety, and stereotype threat. Following his keynote, Drs. Regina Shields and Diane Swirsky will join Professor powell onstage for a dialogue that will add clinical and theoretical perspectives on race and 'othering.' More information. 

Professor john a. powell is Director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society (Haas Institute) and Robert D. Haas Chancellor’s Chair in Equity and Inclusion at the University of California, Berkeley. Formerly, he directed the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University and the Institute for Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota. He led the development of an “opportunity-based” model that connects affordable housing to racialized spaces in education, health, health care, and employment. He is the author of Racing to Justice: Transforming our Concepts of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society.

Regina Shields, PhD, MFT, has a private practice in Oakland where she treats children, adolescents and adults. She has taught and/or supervised at TPI, Access Institute, Ann Martin Children’s Center, and the Wright Institute. Dr. Shields was one of the co-founders of the Bay Area Black Mental Health Professionals Network.

Diane Swirsky, PhD, provides psychotherapy and consultation in Oakland. She is on faculty at TPI and is a past president of NCSPP. She has taught widely in the bay area, particularly in the field of trauma, and is a participant in the New Directions Writing Program at the Washington Center for Psychoanalysis.