Feeling Seen: A Pathway to Transformation

Authors

Michaela Simpson, University of California at Berkeley

DOI

10.24972/ijts.2016.35.1.78

Abstract

Chronic exposure to racial indignities can engender a subjective sense of invisibility, in which an individual feels that the dominant culture fails to recognize one’s worth, abilities, and talents. The sense of feeling unseen can permeate myriad aspects of the lived experience and negatively impact well-being. Using the case of an African American male in therapy with an African American female psychotherapist, this article presents how implicit and explicit acts of recognition of the patient and acknowledgment of race, integrated into a change-oriented and experiential psychotherapeutic process can facilitate transformational experiences. This case study seeks to highlight the importance of therapeutic alliance and patient perception of therapist empathy, which may contribute to enhanced well-being of African American men seeking psychotherapy.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Simpson, M. (2016). Simpson, M. (2016). Feeling seen: A pathway to transformation. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 35(1), 78-91.. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 35 (1). https://doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2016.35.1.78