Tips and Advice for Anyone Experiencing Discrimination in School.

If you have been experiencing discrimination during your placement setting or during school, it can feel impossible to understand what is happening and what to do about it. There is a huge power imbalance between you and the school/agency. Going against these systems can feel like an uphill battle, on top of the regular school schedule. If at any point, you are feeling like the process is too much, it’s okay to stop fighting and preserve your energy. It is okay to put your head down and get through the experience. This option is also a very wise way to navigate harmful systems.

            If you’re interested in what some steps are you can take to advocate within these systems, there are a couple of tips I can suggest.

-        Start a journal outlining everything that happens. It can be done in chronological order where you write down the date and time, setting, people in the room/witnesses, and what happened.

-        Read through any manuals, handbooks, or welcome packages/worksheets that you may have gotten at the beginning of the semester. In these forms, you’ll be able to find specific policies that you can name in your journal and in any future meetings you may have. Leaning on these policies will be helpful as these manuals and handbooks serve as a sort of “contract” that everyone is supposed to be following. Most will have a policy regarding discrimination.

-        Take note of who you can lean on within these systems. Do you have a school liaison that is supposed to keep regular meetings with you and ensure your learning goals are being met in a safe manner? Is there a professor you trust and can connect with? Is there and Ombudsperson that you can speak to? This is someone who is employed by the school and they can help you figure out what the next steps are in your situation. Their services are confidential.

-        Find your support people outside of school/practicum. Are there friends or family members that you can lean on for support? Are there other students are your school who are going through a similar experience?

-        Is your practicum supervisor a part of any regulatory bodies? For example, a Registered Social Worker (RSW) is attached to the BC College of Social Workers (BCCSW). You can research the regulatory body to understand their ethics policies and reporting options.

-        It is okay to wait until after you have graduated to take these steps. Graduating is a huge stress and if practicum is the final thing you need to do to graduate, it is okay to wait until that last step is done. Having a journal that outlines all the events that happened will be helpful if you want to wait.

You deserve a safe place for your education. If school has been a difficult place for you to feel safe and grow, I am here for you. I’ve navigated these systems and have faced discrimination in school and practicum. I hope to offer you a safe space to process and consider your options.

Racism and Discrimination in School.

During my many years as a student, I had the privilege of gaining experience through many different practicum placement settings. In one of these settings, I had the unfortunate experience of being faced with ongoing racism that resulted in me being wrongfully dismissed when I tried to advocate for a more inclusive space. Many clients I had at the placement were BIPOC, queer, connecting with a counsellor for the first time, healing, and experiencing therapeutic safety for the first time. These clients were not treated with care by my supervisors. These clients were dehumanized, belittled, and the supervisors at the placement had no knowledge of lived experience outside of their own social location. I started to feel like I had to protect these clients from the supervisors. This led me to feeling unsupported as a student and stifled in my growth as a counsellor.

            After multiple meetings with my school, the practicum placement decided to wrongfully (and unethically) terminate my placement early. They had done so without any proper procedures outlined by the school, and the placement agency. I was left stunned, angry, confused, and insulted. Worst of all, I mourned the sudden, unethical termination of the therapeutic relationship I had with the clients I was seeing. I was not able to meet with any of the clients I was seeing to let them know what was happening. They were notified by someone else from the agency that I was no longer at the agency and another counsellor can be assigned to them. I cannot imagine the crash of emotions these clients experienced. They had trusted me with their stories, traumas, secrets, and healing journey. I was forced to break my promise to be there for every single client and treat them with care. What happened goes against everything the counselling profession is about.

            The fragile ego of the supervisors was protected over the care of students and clients. During the many meetings I had with them regarding how to be a safe space for marginalized communities, they were not interested in hearing feedback. They were interested in being praised for their empty promises. I had said, you cannot just put a pride sticker on the door and claim to be a safe space without doing any work to make it an actual safe space. If you had not told me you want marginalized communities to feel safe here, I would have not known because nothing is being done; it’s only being talked about. Every semester, many marginalized students are not being accepted here to complete placement, yet you claim to strive for more representation in the agency. Hire more than one marginalized student every semester so that student does not feel alone.

            The phrase, “goodness of fit” was thrown around a lot. I was wrongfully and unethically dismissed due to me not being a “good fit” for the agency. Many other marginalized students were not accepted for a placement because they were not a “good fit.” The insidious thing here is, they’re not wrong. Marginalized students are not a good fit for an agency that prioritizes whiteness and preformative activism. This also means that the agency is unethically advertising themselves as a safe space for clients of all lived experiences to access services. A phrase that stand out to me is, “nothing about us, without us.”

            If you were a client of mine and our sessions ended abruptly and without any warning or explanation, I am sorry. Please feel free to reach out to me.

            In the next part, I will discuss what to do if you are a student experiencing discrimination while completing a practicum placement.