Date of Award
Fall 12-4-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Major
Counseling & Psychology
First Advisor
Catalina Tang Yan, PhD
Second Advisor
Margaret Giles, PhD
Third Advisor
Lynn Sellon, PhD
Abstract
Following the rise of the cultural competence movement, clinical counselors demonstrate a fundamental paradox of perpetuating and mitigating racial oppression within the mental health field. There is a growing need for accountability and systemic change as demographic and sociopolitical shifts occur across Maine and the nation. Grounded in Critical Race and Critical Feminist theories, this critical narrative qualitative study explored the experiences, characteristics, and interests served by seven White, self-identified anti-racist clinical counselors in Maine. Clinicians participated in semi-structured interviews, which were then analyzed using a feminist voice-centered relational method, the Listening Guide. Findings revealed the significance of witnessing the marginalization of others, radical confrontation through education and confrontation of bias, reflexivity, and identity, trauma, and marginalization as integral experiences that influenced motivation for engagement. Participants also demonstrated accountability, a sense of community, receptivity to discomfort, and willingness to act when engaged in anti-racism. When detached, participants demonstrated characteristics of internalized White supremacy and White fragility. This included White saviorism, perfectionism, the right to comfort and safety, and the epistemology of ignorance. Lastly, contrapuntal voices revealed shame and self-compassion as motivators of engagement in unsettling reflexivity required to apply critical awareness to personal and professional realms. Together, these findings resulted in the creation of a dynamic model—Evolving Reflexivity: Antiracist Development among White Clinicians. The model delineates the iterative process by which White clinicians engage with internal and external experiences, and elucidates how they navigate shame and cultivate self-compassion. This study addresses the gap in formal learning necessary for unsettling reflexivity by offering a model for exploring the development of White anti-racist clinicians.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Wells, Rachel B., "From Shame to Self-Compassion: Understanding the Experiences and Characteristics of Self-Identified White Anti-Racist Clinical Counselors in Maine" (2025). Counseling and Psychology Dissertations. 7.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/counseling_psychology_dissertation/7
Number of Pages
301
Included in
Counseling Psychology Commons, Counselor Education Commons, Multicultural Psychology Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Psychology Commons, Social Work Commons
