For decades, communities of color, LGBTQ+ communities, communities with disabilities, and other minoritized communities have continued to engage in activism for social justice and systemic change. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), for example, is a result of years of activism by people with disabilities, culminating in many of these activists climbing up the steps of the US Capitol Building and underscoring the importance of access and equity. These movements for equity persist for the well-being of minoritized communities today.
 

For many years, there was a reticence to critically examine the nuances of identity-based harm in psychological discourse as this counters the “one-size-fits-all” perspective of the medical model. Contemporary research and practice assert that considering identity-based experiences is of paramount importance for mental health care. Furthermore, these activism movements are calling for comprehensive mental health support.

In recent decades, literature on trauma and distress elucidates the impact of hate-based violence on the well-being of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and other minoritized groups (Spanierman & Poteat, 2005; Bryant-Davis & O’Campo, 2005). Hate-based violence comprises violence motivated by prejudice or bias towards individuals based on group membership (i.e., minoritized identities). Trauma scholars posit that this violence can occur by three means: (1) discrimination, (2) hate speech, and (3) hate crimes (Ghafoori et al., 2019).

Within our current technologically connected world, individuals not only experience such forms of violence directly but are also virtually witnessing this violence occurring to others with their shared identities. Psychological research continues to suggest that witnessing such violence can have distressing, at times traumatic, impacts on members of the community and lead to folks endorsing PTSD symptoms (Bryant-Davis & O’Campo, 2005; Carter, 2007; Tynes et al., 2019; Gone et al., 2019; Saleem et al., 2020).

So Why Does This Matter?

Our colleagues, supervisors, and community clients are not immune to the psychological effects of identity-based harm. We feel pain, we grieve losses, and we may need some compassion. It is important to recognize that our teammates may not always be showing up as “their best selves.” You may notice that someone is distracted, seems to be making quite a few mistakes, or maybe more distant and irritable. It may then be easy to believe that folks are being difficult, don’t care about the work, or require disciplinary action.

When in reality, these individuals may be struggling to reconcile injustice, threats to safety, or a lack of systemic support that exists for this person or people who share their identities. Emerging neurobiological data supports that chronic exposure to discrimination alters our stress reactivity and increases our vigilance for fight-or-flight responses (Nam et al., 2022). Imagine for a moment what it must be like to constantly worry about losing civil rights or feeling unsafe. This will, understandably, impact work productivity. In short, we must acknowledge the impact of identity-based experiences on psychological well-being to understand the experiences of employees and the people we serve!

What Can We Do to Effectively Support People After Identity-Based Harm?

Luckily, there are incredible scholars doing work to uplift conversations about healing after identity-based harm. Moreover, it is crucial to note that communities like BIPOC, disabled, and LGBTQ+ communities are not just victims. There are beautifully rich histories of rising up and demanding change. Because of this strength, I, a gay Latino man who utilizes a wheelchair, can access the education and resources to contribute to this work as a scholar and accompany others on this journey as a therapist.

The tenets of the Psychology of Radical Healing (PRH) framework offer important insight into the processes that support healing after identity-based harm (Neville et al., 2019). From this framework, we are reminded that people do not engage in healing in isolation. We come together to grieve, and we find community to remember the beauty and strength in our respective communities, both from past examples and the present moment. We can work together to become aware of injustice and find collective power to advocate for change (French et al., 2020). We come together to strive for change, to find hope. Hope that our communities can change, that an equitable future is possible, and that we can enjoy safe and happy lives (Mosley et al., 2020).

You are needed for this work. It is no longer sufficient to believe that social issues do not show up in our work. Creating an affirming workplace involves acknowledging the realities of identity-based harm and checking in on each other. This means that we may need to take a step back and consider if someone who is struggling at work may need support. Do you have processes in place to guide them to support? This would involve listening to a person without trying to label their experience while affirming that stressors in the world can be painful. There are places to process this distress, and your organization can support folks in accessing them. This support is particularly crucial when some communities have been historically harmed and are subsequently mistrustful of support offerings.

We can continue to establish employee resource groups where folks with shared identities can come together to find community, but are there clear processes in place to review policies to better support employees with minoritized identities? What work may need to be done to establish the safety to even begin such conversations? To be a truly affirming workplace, we need continual dialogue and action to ensure the psychological well-being of employees is centered, and we must acknowledge how these experiences are shaped by the various identities of these employees.

Our workplace is not the only community to consider. What about the communities your organization serves? The surrounding community is also reacting to our social world. We are living in a time where individuals are attending to the proposed values of an organization and how those values are demonstrated. To be affirming, we may benefit from further integrating into our communities and developing relationships with organizations supporting our clients. By integrating with community activism and being present in community spaces, we learn more about the needs of our clients and assert that we care about well-being. These connections can also be helpful to you and your colleagues’ well-being!

In sum, identity and mental health have a powerful interplay that must be considered to support individual and workplace wellness. Addressing these needs can also have clear benefits to productivity and community relations. Mental health is not a one-size-fits-all experience, and we can no longer ignore the experiences of minoritized communities. Thank you for your willingness to effect long-term change in your community!

References

• Bryant-Davis, T., & Ocampo, C. (2005). The trauma of racism: Implications for counseling, research, and education. The Counseling Psychologist, 33, 574 –578. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0011000005276581


• Carter, R. T. (2007). Racism and psychological and emotional injury: Recognizing and assessing race-based traumatic stress. The Counseling Psychologist, 35, 13–105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0011000006292033


• French, B. H., Lewis, J. A., Mosley, D. V., Adames, H. Y., Chavez- Duen ̃as, N. Y., Chen, G. A., & Neville, H. A. (2020). Toward a psychological framework of radical healing in communities of Color. The Counseling Psychologist, 48(1), 14–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019843506    


• Ghafoori, B., Caspi, Y., Salgado, C., Allwood, M., Kreither, J., Tejada, J. L., ... & Nadal, K. (2019). Global perspectives on the trauma of hate-based violence: An international society for traumatic stress studies briefing paper. International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.


• Gone, J. P., Hartmann, W. E., Pomerville, A., Wendt, D. C., Klem, S. H., & Burrage, R. L. (2019). The impact of historical trauma on health outcomes for indigenous populations in the USA and Canada: A systematic review. American Psychologist, 74(1), 20–35. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000338  


• Mosley, D. V., Neville, H. A., Chavez‐Dueñas, N. Y., Adames, H. Y., Lewis, J. A., & French, B. H. (2020). Radical hope in revolting times: Proposing a culturally relevant psychological framework. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 14(1), Article e12512. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12512


• Nam, S., Jeon, S., Lee, S.-J., Ash, G., Nelson, L. E., & Granger, D. A. (2022). Real-time racial discrimination, affective states, salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase in Black Adults. PLOS ONE, 17(9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0273081  


• Neville, H. A., Adames, H. Y., Chavez-Dueñas, N. Y., Chen, G. A., French, B. H., Lewis, J. A., & Mosley, D. V. (2019, March 5). The Psychology of Radical Healing [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/healing-through-social-justice/201903/the-psychology-radical-healing


• Saleem, F. T., Anderson, R. E., & Williams, M. (2020). Addressing the “myth” of racial trauma: Developmental and ecological considerations for youth of color. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 23(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-019-00304-1


• Spanierman, L. B., & Poteat, V. P. (2005). Moving beyond complacency to commitment: Multicultural research in counseling psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 33(4), 513-523.


• Tynes, B. M., Willis, H. A., Stewart, A. M., & Hamilton, M. W. (2019). Race-related traumatic events online and mental health among adolescents of color. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65(3), 371–377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.03.006

Author Bio

José R. Rosario is a doctoral candidate completing his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Clark University. His research and clinical interests examine the impact of identity-based harm (e.g., discrimination, hate-based violence) and subsequent healing in minoritized communities. José founded The Phoenix Empowered, a mental health nonprofit, to amplify the mental health stories of minoritized groups and provide training education towards mental health equity. He is also an advocate, author, and speaker. José is represented by Damon Brooks & Associates for speaking engagements and consultation.

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