When who you are matters: Responding to social identity based outreach requests Batsirai Bvunzawabaya, Ph.D. Matthew Poon, Psy.D. Soumya Madabhushi, Ph.D. Yuhong He, Ph.D.

Objectives Describe outreach requests based on social identities. List some challenges and benefits to engaging in outreach activities that involve our social identities. Discuss the personal implications of disclosing one’s social identities when engaging in outreach work. Demonstrate examples of successful outreach work that focuses on the relevance of the mental health providers’ social identities.

Social Identities

Social identity based outreach This presentation focuses on outreach workshops conducted or liaison relationships built based on the specific identity or identities of the clinician. For Example: Jewish identified CAPS clinician being listed as the liaison to Hillel South Asian students reaching out to an Indian-identified clinician on staff to be present and offer remarks at the South Asian student speak out following the shooting of an Indian-identified male in Kansas.

Social-identity based requests Genesis Group Identify 1st generation college student among staff Group ME incident - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iY4dtxw_7M

Self-Disclosure Use of self model: "According to systems theory, therapists are unavoidably a part of the treatment situation both as therapists and as themselves. They can't choose to be in or out, they can only choose to be aware or not” (Baldwin, 2000, p. 39). Three forms: Inevitable, Accidental, Intentional Which form of disclosure do we engage in during our outreach activities?

A case for self-disclosure Fosters therapeutic alliance Fosters sense of trust and safety Reduces power in the relationship Allows for authenticity Social justice values of taking a stance

How do we navigate our own need for safety and/or privacy with the needs of the community?

Potential Benefits Reducing stigma among groups Serve as a role-model Higher sense of identification and understanding of experiences the group may encounter Greater sense of community and safety coming from the idea of shared experiences Serving as an advocate and/or an ally Fulfilling an important role in the community May be an advantage to be seen as an “expert” in that area (e.g., international specialist).

Potential Challenges Conflict around disclosing to get “buy-in” or credibility Colluding that safety can only be attained via shared identities No opportunity to fully define what an identity means to you Limited opportunity to discuss any nuances present in the group or identity (e.g., Asian vs. Asian-American) Realizing that there may be different expectations based on the request for a certain identity Disappointing to the individual or group if the expected similarities are not present (e.g., not speaking the same language) Diversity in the needs of the participants Having an individual client in the audience Confronting any discrimination (e.g., sexism) that may arise

Personal implications of disclosing No opportunity to process what the disclosure means to participants (e.g., what did the therapist’s disclosure mean to you?) Hard to speak from a “personal place” in a meaningful way in certain settings Uncertainty of what the best way to self-disclose in outreach Fear of being judged, tokenized or being pigeon-holed Having to decide whether to disclose less visible identities May not feel safe in the environment because your identity is “under attack” Viewed as pursuing your own “personal agenda” Self-disclosure is at the request of the liaison not the group

Recommendations What would disclosing or not disclosing mean to you? Seek consultation and support from colleagues Find your area of comfort Get feedback Include your role on campus as part of informed consent Give your client a “heads-up” Ask yourself: What would disclosing or not disclosing mean to you? What would disclosing or not disclosing mean to the community? What are your goals for disclosing? (remembering the ethical idea of beneficence and non- maleficence) Is the disclosure primarily for your own sake or to benefit the community? How are your identities perceived in your community? What is your level of safety?

Questions or Comments?