Disarming Implicit Bias in Clinical Practice

This course covers the topic of bias and how it affects your therapeutic practice and everyday life. Disarming our biases is and will continue to be a relevant conversation as it is a lifelong journey for any therapist that wishes to provide a safe space for their clients. Clinicians will discover more about their own bias and opportunities to challenge these in a myriad of ways.

You will learn to:

• Give examples of bias in everyday life or in practice.

• Modify language and terminology to align with the vernacular of the client and create an open space.

• Examine how to set the tone from the beginning of the relationship in terms of acknowledging bias.

• Develop check-in opportunities with yourself and your clients to ensure culture humility is always at the forefront of your practice.

Discomfort is okay when cultivating connection. You have to lean into it as a therapist. This course explores the duality in bias and dismantling bias is a lifelong process. Sira acknowledges that “Our experiences inform who we are, how we react, how we behave, how we perceive, and how we continue to engage with people.”

We, of course, talk about power and privilege in the conversation of bias and how to make intentional shifts in our own bias. There is so much space to create change, where do we start? We discuss the little things you can do to set the tone and create the connection between therapist and client or even person and person. Lambers Fisher takes us through his efforts to cultivate this connection with a client (role played by Sira) and the nuances in his approach.

This conversation is not just for mental health providers, it is for anyone that wants to build open and authentic relationships.