Intentional Call to Action: Mindfully Discussing Race in Group Psychotherapy

Although race is an integral identity of all members in a psychotherapy group, therapists have not always felt equipped to discuss race within the group psychotherapy context. The sociocultural context of structural, institutional, and interpersonal racism in U.S. society necessitates that group psychotherapists provide a safe environment to courageously discuss issues of race as they manifest in the group. Given that heightened emotions can surface when experiences of racism and microaggressions are disclosed and processed, a tool to ground reactions and regulate the nervous system is useful. The practice of mindfulness, specifically RAINN (recognize, allow, investigate, nonidentification, and nurture), is introduced as a tool to regulate the leader's and group members' nervous systems in order to anchor discussions and examinations of race during group therapy.