In the wake of George Floyd's murder in May 2020, the Coalition for Inclusion and Anti-oppressive Practice received a massive injection of urgency and energy. Formed in March 2019 to improve diversity in the counselling and psychotherapy profession, the Coalition decided to focus on race and tackle the barriers in training courses.

A groundbreaking conference in February 2021 brought together leading lights in the profession, including Myira Khan, Eugene Ellis, and Dwight Turner. This star-studded event sparked the idea for a toolkit for training providers. The toolkit was then authored by fresh voices Marcelline Menyie and Danielle Osajivbe-Williams of Routes Therapeutic Consultancy.

Fast forward to October 2023, and the Race is Complicated Toolkit launched with a bang. The authors' rallying cry? "Disrupt the status quo." The response was overwhelming, with over 2,000 downloads and Coalition members making pledges to implement the Toolkit within their organisations.

But the real test came in June 2024. The webinar 'Race is Complicated: Where Are We Now?' attracted 130 educators from across the UK. Marcelline Menyie kicked things off with a powerful "walk with me" exercise, engaging participants' bodies and minds in the race conversation endeavour. The Contemporary Institute of Clinical Sexology (CICS) then shared how they have used the Toolkit to revolutionise their approach to race in their training programmes.

The message was clear: engage with both heart and mind. One without the other just won't cut it.

Watch the webinar recording

Pre-event survey

A pre-event survey showed promising results, including that:

• 60% of respondents had read the Toolkit
• 90% of readers completed it
• 70% found it very helpful and recommended it to others
• 87.5% made positive changes in anti-oppressive practice.

But there's still work to do. Some institutions haven't fully engaged with the Toolkit, and others hadn't even heard of it. The call for more active promotion and implementation rings loud and clear.

Breakout room discussions revealed both progress and challenges

Progress:

• Initiating crucial conversations.
• Inspiring action with new language and tools.
• Updating guidance and planning impact assessments.
• Filtering antiracist practices throughout services.
• Inviting diverse voices into institutions.
• Updating syllabi and reading lists.

Challenges:

• Institutional resistance.
• Difficulty maintaining momentum.
• Lack of systemic buy-in.
• Fear of getting it wrong.
• Time and resource constraints.
• Moving from understanding to action.

Participants pledged action:

1. Engage with the Toolkit: Download, review, share, and implement.
2. Promote awareness: Open conversations about racism and oppression.
3. Take professional action: Incorporate anti-oppressive practices in teaching and clinical work.
4. Personal growth: Practice self-reflection and work on unconscious biases.
5. Collaborate: Find like-minded colleagues to share the work.
6. Explore new approaches: Consider using VR in training about race.
7. Continuous learning: Read recommended books and stay grounded.

The event highlighted two crucial points:

1. We need to keep promoting the Toolkit. Many participants hadn't seen or heard of it.
2. These events are vital sources of hope, energy, and inspiration.

So, what's next?

The Coalition is pausing to reflect on how to fuel this valuable work. The goal? To create a "fuel station" where training providers and service delivery organisations can share good practice, encourage each other, and challenge themselves to make real changes.

The journey to transform psychological therapies training is far from over. It's complicated, it's challenging, but it's absolutely necessary. As one participant’s pledge put it: "To be more proactive and vocal and disruptive to change peoples' minds, including at times my own unconscious bias, and encourage different ways of being, not just box-ticking."

This isn't just an academic exercise. It's a way of life. It's about 'disrupting the status quo', challenging power structures, and creating a more inclusive and anti-oppressive profession. It's about recognising that racism and oppression are safeguarding issues that demand our attention and action.

So, are you ready to disrupt the status quo? To engage with both heart and mind? To make anti-oppressive practice not just a goal, but a reality? The Toolkit is here. The community is growing. The time for change is now.

Let's keep the conversation going, keep challenging ourselves and our institutions, and keep working towards a more inclusive and just profession. Because race is complicated, but our commitment to change doesn't have to be.

For updates please go to the Place2Be Coalition web page.