Taking (white) space: reflections from a queer-of-colour Gestalt therapy trainer

Abstract

In this paper, the author, a queer-of-colour professor of Gestalt therapy, reflects on how race and racism emerged and was explored during a training workshop at the Norwegian Gestalt Institute. The student group, as is quite often the case in the Gestalt world, was majority white. The exploration became heated, but there was also movement through the crises. The author makes sense of the experience by reflecting on racism as a field phenomenon, the need to increase awareness of power and privilege, and the importance and difficulty of balancing challenge and support in these situations. The paper ends with a short reflection on the importance of self-care and a joyful poem. Keywords racism, microaggressions, BIPOC, Gestalt therapy training, group experiment, online