Racial Healing

We believe that a more just world does not just benefit those experiencing acute oppression and violence (a philosophy which inherently casts privileged people as the agents of oppressed peoples’ freedom), but that the principle of collective liberation promises freedom for both those cast as the oppressed, and those cast as the oppressor, while racial healing provides all of us the opportunity to heal generations-long racial wounds.

Where to Start

The Racial Healing Handbook (book for purchase) (Singh, 2019)

A workbook offering practical and thoughtful activities and readings to catalyze personal racial healing, growth, and transformation. Useful both for personal work, as well as for conceptualizing racial healing work with students and colleagues.

Primer on a Healing Justice Framework

A framework that operates in opposition to the medical model of healing, the Healing Justice Framework seeks to build a shared language and commitment to healing practices that center collective liberation. Invaluable for counselors working to reimagine paradigms of treatment and recovery.

Deepening the Conversation

The Future of Healing: Shifting From Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement (Ginwright, 2018)

Ginwright offers an opportunity to reimagine what counselor practitioners and educators mean when we say “trauma informed care,” a phrase that has become increasingly watered down. Instead, Ginwright advocates for an approach that centers the healing, autonomy, and strengths of youth.

Ieva, Kara P.; Beasley, Jordon; and Steen, Sam (2021) "Equipping School Counselors for Antiracist Healing Centered Groups: A Critical Examination of Preparation, Connected Curricula, Professional Practice and Oversight," Teaching and Supervision in Counseling: Vol. 3 : Iss. 2 , Article 7. https://doi.org/10.7290/tsc030207

“This paper highlights the potential for school counselors to promote antiracist practices and racial healing engagement utilizing small group counseling to ultimately eliminate inequities in schools.”