Date of Award
8-24-2024
Document Type
Doctoral Research Paper
Degree Name
Psy.D.
Organizational Unit
Graduate School of Professional Psychology
First Advisor
Erica Adkins
Second Advisor
Kathryn Barrs
Third Advisor
Rohini Gupta
Keywords
Systemic oppression, Multicultural feminist theory, Multicultural feminist psychology
Abstract
Multicultural feminist psychological theory states that all people experience suffering due to systemic oppression, and that healing results from the liberation from oppression. Part of the healing process involves consciousness-raising, or the act of telling one’s story and analyzing one’s experiences for themes of privilege and power, while exploring the relationships between identities, systems, and sociopolitical context. As a doctoral student experiencing significant distress, burnout, and apathy at the end of my academic training, I sought to understand my own experiences of oppression, power, and privilege in order to deepen my multicultural responsiveness and humility and to engage in an act of liberation and empowerment. Using multicultural feminist psychological theory, my analysis revealed the perpetuation of systemic oppression (including but not limited to capitalism, colonialism, patriarchy, white supremacy, ableism, and cis-heteronormativity) within my doctoral program at systemic, interpersonal, and individual levels. At the individual level, I experienced broad disempowerment as a result of being oppressed and, more prominently, a result of my internalized oppressor becoming activated. This analysis demonstrates how systemic oppression harms all individuals and informs the argument that all people must fight for liberation from oppression.
Copyright Date
7-12-2024
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Alison Conner
Provenance
Received from author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
47 pgs
File Size
705 KB
Recommended Citation
Conner, Alison, "‘But That’s How It’s Always Been!’ Analyzing a Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program for Systems of Power and Privilege Using One Student’s Personal Account and Multicultural Feminist Psychological Theory" (2024). Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects. 538.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/capstone_masters/538
Included in
Multicultural Psychology Commons, Other Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, Other Psychology Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, Social Justice Commons