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Anti-Racist Psychotherapy: Confronting Systemic Racism and Healing Racial Trauma
Anti-Racist Confronting Systemic Racism and Healing Racial Trauma Transform your understanding of racial trauma.
"David Archer shares great insights on race relations, mental health, and how to heal from trauma. Buy this now!"
Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP My Grandmother’s Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
“David Archer’s book is a welcomed and much-needed guide to an intentionally anti-racist approach to psychotherapy.”
Mark Nickerson, LICSW Cultural Competence and Healing Culturally Based Trauma with EMDR Insights, Strategies and Protocols
“David Archer introduces the reader to essential elements of Critical Race Theory, Mindfulness meditation, and EMDR therapy”
Andrew M. Leeds, Ph.D. A Guide to the Standard EMDR Therapy Protocols for Clinicians, Supervisors, and Consultants, 2nd Edition
"[David] has hit the nail on the head with his ideas on anti-racist psychotherapy, presenting without needless jargon, the tools we need to work effectively in the real world we live in today. Therapists can benefit from his analysis of the literature and his experience as an EMDR therapist himself. Trauma therapists will want to add this book to their resource library now!"
Carol Miles, LCSW EMDRIA Past President, EMDR Certified Therapist, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, EMDR Therapy Trainer
Anti-Racist Psychotherapy is an approach designed to clarify the mental health effects of racism and provide a neuroscience-informed approach to resolve racial trauma. This book will help you learn a new and unique perspective for conceptualizing racism and recovering from its effects on the nervous system. Using the approaches described in this book will reveal how we can reprocess the pain of our past, inspire hope for the future, and gain a higher level of awareness when discussing the mental health effects of systemic racism.
David Archer, MSW, MFT, is an anti-racist psychotherapist from Montreal, Canada (Tiohtià:ke). In addition to being trained as a clinical social worker, he is also a registered couple and family therapist. Mr. Archer is an ally of LGBTQ, Black, Indigenous, people of color, and all others who seek justice around the world.
"David Archer shares great insights on race relations, mental health, and how to heal from trauma. Buy this now!"
Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP My Grandmother’s Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
“David Archer’s book is a welcomed and much-needed guide to an intentionally anti-racist approach to psychotherapy.”
Mark Nickerson, LICSW Cultural Competence and Healing Culturally Based Trauma with EMDR Insights, Strategies and Protocols
“David Archer introduces the reader to essential elements of Critical Race Theory, Mindfulness meditation, and EMDR therapy”
Andrew M. Leeds, Ph.D. A Guide to the Standard EMDR Therapy Protocols for Clinicians, Supervisors, and Consultants, 2nd Edition
"[David] has hit the nail on the head with his ideas on anti-racist psychotherapy, presenting without needless jargon, the tools we need to work effectively in the real world we live in today. Therapists can benefit from his analysis of the literature and his experience as an EMDR therapist himself. Trauma therapists will want to add this book to their resource library now!"
Carol Miles, LCSW EMDRIA Past President, EMDR Certified Therapist, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, EMDR Therapy Trainer
Anti-Racist Psychotherapy is an approach designed to clarify the mental health effects of racism and provide a neuroscience-informed approach to resolve racial trauma. This book will help you learn a new and unique perspective for conceptualizing racism and recovering from its effects on the nervous system. Using the approaches described in this book will reveal how we can reprocess the pain of our past, inspire hope for the future, and gain a higher level of awareness when discussing the mental health effects of systemic racism.
David Archer, MSW, MFT, is an anti-racist psychotherapist from Montreal, Canada (Tiohtià:ke). In addition to being trained as a clinical social worker, he is also a registered couple and family therapist. Mr. Archer is an ally of LGBTQ, Black, Indigenous, people of color, and all others who seek justice around the world.
226 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 6, 2021
74 people are currently reading
385 people want to read
About the author
David Archer
3 books7 followersDavid Archer, MSW, MFT, is an anti-racist psychotherapist from Montreal, Canada (Tiohtià:ke). He works full time in private practice and provides consulting services for organizations and other therapists.
In addition to being trained as a clinical social worker, he is also a registered couple and family therapist. His philosophies are informed by mindfulness, intersectional feminism, and critical race theory, and he provides mental health services practice using EMDR, Brainspotting, EFT, and other mind-body strategies which utilize memory re-consolidation and working memory taxation methods. Areas of interest relate to working with individuals who have suffered from PTSD, racial trauma, minority stress, addictions, and eating disorders.
Mr. Archer is an ally of LGBTQ, Black, Indigenous, and oppressed people of color around the world.
In addition to being trained as a clinical social worker, he is also a registered couple and family therapist. His philosophies are informed by mindfulness, intersectional feminism, and critical race theory, and he provides mental health services practice using EMDR, Brainspotting, EFT, and other mind-body strategies which utilize memory re-consolidation and working memory taxation methods. Areas of interest relate to working with individuals who have suffered from PTSD, racial trauma, minority stress, addictions, and eating disorders.
Mr. Archer is an ally of LGBTQ, Black, Indigenous, and oppressed people of color around the world.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 31, 2023
Great book.
I loved it.
Crucial.
Important.
Author David Archer applies systems thinking and EMDR to processing healing and ending the cycle of racial trauma.
In brief Archer asserts:
Race is a social construct.
Anti-Black racism is the norm.
Silence and non action is complicity.
Racial trauma is multi-generational, and reinforced through media, violence and microaggression.
White supremacy necessitates Black suffering, and Black suffering reinforces White supremacy.
The complex trauma of Whiteness leads White society to dissociate from their own racial trauma and as such, maintains the cycle of White supremacy and Black suffering.
The complex trauma of Blackness stimulates White society's preoccupation with Black suffering and as such, also maintains the cycle of White supremacy and Black suffering.
A systems perspective identifies relevant actors and current/historical hierarchical structures and cycles enabling [second order] systemic change.
The principles of EMDR and other forms of trauma therapy can help resolve deep rooted racial trauma and promote healing in the nervous system.
Our society is in the process of reconciling with race and racism. It will take time, but we must not be discouraged.
We can reprocess trauma within our clients lives, but we must start with our institutions, organizations, and ourselves first.
Archer critiques the construct of “cultural competence” that all (or many of us) were trained in as therapists as ludicrous. Archer is (rightfully) circumspect regarding the notion that we can become “fluent” in another “culture” and dodge the issue of race and racism in therapy.
Archer asserts that the importance of naming the problem in therapy is essential to progress and healing. If therapists don’t openly discuss the impact of racism, the issue probably won’t come up. And we can’t talk about race and racism in therapy without naming white centrality/supremacy/fragility/privilege.
There is much more to SAY and LOVE about this book.
But probably better if you just read it 😀
I loved it.
Crucial.
Important.
Author David Archer applies systems thinking and EMDR to processing healing and ending the cycle of racial trauma.
In brief Archer asserts:
Race is a social construct.
Anti-Black racism is the norm.
Silence and non action is complicity.
Racial trauma is multi-generational, and reinforced through media, violence and microaggression.
White supremacy necessitates Black suffering, and Black suffering reinforces White supremacy.
The complex trauma of Whiteness leads White society to dissociate from their own racial trauma and as such, maintains the cycle of White supremacy and Black suffering.
The complex trauma of Blackness stimulates White society's preoccupation with Black suffering and as such, also maintains the cycle of White supremacy and Black suffering.
A systems perspective identifies relevant actors and current/historical hierarchical structures and cycles enabling [second order] systemic change.
The principles of EMDR and other forms of trauma therapy can help resolve deep rooted racial trauma and promote healing in the nervous system.
Our society is in the process of reconciling with race and racism. It will take time, but we must not be discouraged.
We can reprocess trauma within our clients lives, but we must start with our institutions, organizations, and ourselves first.
Archer critiques the construct of “cultural competence” that all (or many of us) were trained in as therapists as ludicrous. Archer is (rightfully) circumspect regarding the notion that we can become “fluent” in another “culture” and dodge the issue of race and racism in therapy.
Archer asserts that the importance of naming the problem in therapy is essential to progress and healing. If therapists don’t openly discuss the impact of racism, the issue probably won’t come up. And we can’t talk about race and racism in therapy without naming white centrality/supremacy/fragility/privilege.
There is much more to SAY and LOVE about this book.
But probably better if you just read it 😀
April 12, 2022
I loved reading this book by David Archer. I actually read the French translation, as I was assigned the editing and proofreading of said version. And what started off as a time-consuming, burdensome task, turned into a really pleasurful and insightful read! I especially appreciate how accessible it is, so it is suitable for the informed, but also for beginners and the curious.
August 8, 2021
I deeply respect Dr. Archer for his passion and commitment to the work and sharing this with us. Having already read the works by Drs. DeGruy and Kendi and others, I don't feel like I gained as much from this as I might have otherwise. Still many important lessons in here, especially for White clinicians like me trying to help empower Black and Brown colleagues and patients that I work with. Thank you Dr. Archer for all you do
June 10, 2023
I listened to it on audio. The author is very knowledgeable. This is a great introductory book to doing anti racist trauma therapy. For me it seemed great for a white therapist who has not done any anti racist work. For me having done some this was a bit to introductory. I would love to see the author do a deeper dive.
September 18, 2021
All my therapist friends, go ahead and add this to your to-read list. Imperative information.
February 13, 2024
David Archer shares essential and extremely valuable insights into racial dynamics and the role of race and systemic racism in the creation and continuation of trauma. This book is a must read for any psychotherapist or student in psychotherapy.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews