November 8, 2016: The day I became a White clinician

Abstract

When Donald Trump became president of the United States, I discovered that my clients who identified as Black saw me as a White clinician. With that came a host of nefarious attributions. To preserve therapeutic efficacy, and the genuine relationships with people about whom I cared, I had to distinguish myself from the president; thus, I learned not only how it feels to be seen through the bias of skin color but what I needed to do to identify as a person rather than a White person. "Welcome to my world," said one African American client.