Reclaiming Our Worth and Wellness: A Self-Worth Framework for BIPOC Clinicians and Their Clients

From 2020 to the present, every racial minority community has suffered some form of injustice. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) clinicians have shown up consistently to hold and heal their communities, and have faced burnout as a result. This workshop will illuminate the ways direct and vicarious racial trauma can erode clinician self-worth and lead to burnout, compassion fatigue, and ineffective therapy. Participants will be guided through reflective and experiential exercises to restore a sense of personal power, and increase our ability to shepard our clients through the process of reclaiming self-worth and wellness despite continued oppression.

• Describe how direct and vicarious racial trauma can erode BIPOC clinicians’ self-worth and well-being.
• Utilize at least one strategy to cultivate self-compassion and how to model this for a client in session.
• Describe the importance of BIPOC clinicians reclaiming their self-worth.

Adia Gooden, PhD and Meag-gan O'Reilly, PhD