Tatiana A. Sanchez’s scientific contributions

Racism is prejudice and discrimination targeted at a person or people based on their membership to a racial group that is reinforced by societal structures of power. Unfortunately, the existence and nature of systemic racism has not changed significantly in the past decade,¹,² and it continues to be present in all facets of society, including psychological practice.³Indeed, racism continues to impact the mental health of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC), via disparities in mental health status and diagnosis; barriers to accessing mental health care; and the lack of cultural competence/sensitivity in therapy.⁴-⁷ In this article, we provide a brief summary of these inequities and provide recommendations, applicable for individuals (e.g., psychologists, supervisors) and organizations/institutions (e.g., Canadian Psychological Association, universities). While some of the recommendations may already have been implemented or addressed by researchers, clinicians, programs, departments and institutions across the country, we hope that this article will contribute to further self-reflection and change for the discipline and profession.

Racism exists at the individual and systemic level where power differentials and hierarchies oppress racial minorities. Canada’s auspicious history of colonialism and systemic racism puts Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour at-risk of poor psychological health, in addition to a host of other health-related concerns. As psychologists and trainees, our ethical duty, as outlined in our Code of Ethics, includes the responsibility to society. Recent sociocultural discussions and political movements (e.g., Black Lives Matter) highlight the need to confront and address issues of long-standing racism and inequity. As such, this commentary provides a brief review of the current and historical contexts of racism in psychology and highlights the need for a concrete, actionable plan to address these concerns. Consequently, we propose 18 recommendations to address the reviewed problems. We believe that these recommendations will help various settings that house and train psychologists as well as ones that regulate the profession (e.g., academic psychology departments, hospitals, private practices, governing bodies for psychology) to adopt anti-racist measures that provide a more inclusive environment.