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Breathing Beyond Borders: Racial Justice and Decolonial Healing Practices
  • ISSN: 2054-7668
  • E-ISSN: 2054-7676

Abstract

So a lot has transpired in the world. These last few years have highlighted the ways in which Black and Brown bodies are historically underrepresented, misunderstood and dismissed. As two Black Caribbean clinicians, we worked with various Black Caribbean people in an acute care setting over five years; this article focuses on how representation impacted their care. Black and Brown people often receive inadequate care, care that does not speak to the wholeness of their humanity. We sought to create a methodology that represented our patients’ cultural identities and allowed them to feel seen. We did this by transforming the clinical space into a culturally relevant play space and explored adaptive social skills in preparation for community reintegration and to build ego strength through creative reflection. This work breathed life into us as we explored what it means to be seen in an oppressive system.

Resumen

Así que muchas cosas han sucedido en el mundo. Estos últimos años han puesto de relieve las formas en que los cuerpos negros y marrones históricamente están subrepresentados, mal entendidos y descartados. Como dos médicos del Caribe negro, trabajamos con varias personas del Caribe negro en un entorno de atención aguda durante 5 años. Este artículo se centra en cómo la representación impactó su atención. Las personas negras y marrones a menudo reciben atención inadecuada; cuidado que no habla de la totalidad de su humanidad. Buscamos crear una metodología que representara las identidades culturales de nuestros pacientes y les permitiera sentirse vistos. Hicimos esto al transformar el espacio clínico en un espacio de juego culturalmente relevante y exploramos las habilidades sociales adaptativas en preparación para la reintegración comunitaria y para fortalecer el ego a través de la reflexión creativa. Este trabajo nos dio vida mientras exploramos lo que significa ser visto en un sistema opresivo.

Résumé

Il s’est passé beaucoup de choses dans le monde. Ces dernières années ont mis en évidence la manière dont les corps noirs et bruns sont historiquement sous-représentés, incompris et rejetés. En tant que deux cliniciens noirs des Caraïbes, nous avons travaillé avec diverses personnes noires des Caraïbes dans un établissement de soins de courte durée pendant 5 ans. Cet article se concentre sur l’impact de la représentation sur leurs soins. Les personnes noires et brunes reçoivent souvent des soins inadéquats; des soins qui ne reflètent pas la totalité de leur humanité. Nous avons cherché à créer une méthodologie qui représentait les identités culturelles de nos patients et leur permettait de se sentir vus. Nous l’avons fait en transformant l’espace clinique en un espace de jeu culturellement pertinent et en explorant les compétences sociales adaptatives en vue de la réintégration dans la communauté et pour renforcer l’ego par la réflexion créative. Ce travail nous a revigoré alors que nous explorions ce que cela signifie d’être vu dans un système oppressif.

© 2023 Intellect Ltd
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2023-05-11
2026-04-16

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/content/journals/10.1386/dtr_00120_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): Black therapists; Caribbean clinicians; cliniciens caribéens; competencia cultural; compétence culturelle; congruence culturelle; congruencia cultural; cultural competence; cultural congruence; culturally relevant play space; espace de jeu culturellement pertinent; espacio de juego culturalmente relevante; médicos caribeños; representación; representation; représentation; Terapeutas negros; Thérapeutes noirs

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