Despite obstacles including lack of funding and institutional support—not to mention marginalization within their own profession—psychologists of color have been working tirelessly to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion, or EDI, since long before it was a common term. In addition to early research efforts like those of Mamie Clark, PhD, and Kenneth Clark, PhD, in the 1940s showing the psychological effects of racism on Black children, psychologists of color advanced more formal EDI efforts in the 1960s, including culturally responsive research and clinical services, EDI training and consultation, and advocacy and activism efforts.
Over time, their work has grown in scope, visibility, and impact. Most recently, their efforts have gained added significance as the scourge of COVID-19 has laid bare serious health inequities and more Americans have been brought face-to-face with racial injustices following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.
Clinical psychologists are among those doing this pivotal EDI work. BraVada Garrett-Akinsanya, PhD, for example, uses an evidence-based, African-centered wellness model to provide services to Black children, adults, couples, and families who live in Minneapolis communities ravaged by health inequities, gun violence, and high infant and maternal mortality rates. She is also founder of the African American Child Wellness Institute, which provides culturally specific mental health services and holistic wellness resources, research, and practices to Black children and their families.
Seeing the difficulties and inequities that these communities face, Garrett-Akinsanya wants her discipline to be part of the solution, not part of the problem: “I want to prioritize sharing our science with America,” she said, “because we have a racism emergency in our streets, and people of color are hurting.”
At Claremont McKenna College in California, Wei-Chin Hwang, PhD, is using research to find ways to improve clinical services for diverse populations based on their unique cultural needs. He developed the first culturally adapted cognitive behavioral therapy manual for use with Asian-heritage populations, for example, and his research lab is now studying how providers become barriers to care for prospective clients of different racial and clinical backgrounds when they fail to return or respond to emails and phone calls from those seeking help.
Many of his students plan to pursue clinical psychology careers to aid their communities, Hwang added. “They want to make a difference in the communities they belong to and the ones that they serve,” he said, “both in raising awareness about mental health issues and in destigmatizing mental health treatments.”
Other psychologists, meanwhile, are infusing EDI principles in academia, businesses, health care, and additional settings. Tiffany Townsend, PhD, chief diversity officer at Augusta University in Georgia, has been heading a range of EDI initiatives on her campus, including a diversity climate listening tour, listening sessions following the murder of George Floyd, and free online EDI trainings. A campus climate survey conducted by her team found that students wanted more faculty that they could relate to, which led to a university-funded initiative to recruit and retain faculty of color.
“I’m really focused on helping our faculty, leaders, and staff think about why we should care [about EDI],” Townsend said. “We know that creativity improves when you have different perspectives and lived experiences at the table.”
Still other psychologists are bringing EDI research into the public eye. Portland, Oregon-based counseling psychologist Jenjee T. Sengkhammee, PhD, who is Hmong American, spoke to Oregon Public Broadcasting several times about the mental health issues affecting people of color during COVID and the impact of racism on Asian American health, including after the shooting deaths of six women of Asian descent at a spa in Atlanta in March 2021. And Jill Fish, PhD, a Minnesota-based counseling psychologist and researcher who is Haudenosaunee, has created a digital project for Native people to tell their stories, called OrigiNativesopens in new window. Eventually, she wants to create formal curricula around the stories so that all people, Native and non-Native, can learn directly from Native people rather than from outdated textbooks.
Like many psychologists practicing EDI principles, Fish is a firm believer in work that benefits those being studied. “We have an obligation to return to our communities—not only to empower them to be a part of the research process,” she said, “but also to have them experience the positive effects of psychological research in real time.”
