The anti-racism task force is a group of employees who have helped to research and create an action plan for addressing racism at Well Clinic and the field of psychotherapy.
With the guidance of external consultation, we are committed to addressing the manifestations of white supremicist culture at the clinic as well as providing financial support to anti-racism activists.
Our goal is to build structure into the company that will outlive the fervor of this moment and create meaningful change while also using our position in the community to help others do the same.
The task force meets regularly to monitor our action steps and to hold each other accountable in the long term.
We support the BREATHE Act
Well Clinic is a community co-sponsor of this legislation. The BREATHE Act is a 21st-century Federal civil rights bill that will help communities of color not just survive but thrive. Learn more here and take action: https://breatheact.org/
Official Statement
Black Lives Matter
We are part of a society where the lives of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color continue to be blighted by structural racism, lack of opportunity, health disparities, and direct violence by agents of the state and others. Organizations and businesses, including our own, have for too long been complacent or complicit.
Well Clinic has failed throughout its history to appropriately center the role of racism inside the profession of psychotherapy as well as inside our own organization. Our leadership is all white and our staff is majority white. We have been complicit in the ways that racism has continued to operate and dominate American culture and the marketplace we exist in.
We feel deep sorrow, regret, and humility in waking up to this and acknowledging it. We probably can not fully understand the harm that we have caused as a result, but we are engaged in learning and bring as much consciousness as we can to this ongoing process of advocating for BIPOC by committing to and being vocal about anti-racism.
As a community of healing professionals, we firmly support defunding the police.
It is clear that an institution with its origins as the Slave Patrol simply can not be part of a just and equitable society. Not only does it materially endanger the lives of Black people specifically, and has since its inception, but it also represents a way of viewing people and problems in society that is harmful to everyone.
The interlocking systems that create the majority of what the police are dispatched to address are solvable and as a society, we have an ethical obligation to heal, repair and not to perpetrate new trauma on already marginalized and traumatized members of our community.
To this, we have created a document that aims to provide resources as alternatives to calling the police for those located in the San Francisco and East Bay areas. You can download it here.
We are committed to installing anti-racism into the blueprint of our operations.
Well Clinic hereby affirms and pledges more fully, to act in solidarity with those who are targets of this violence and inequity in their everyday lives. We have therefore pledged the following concrete action steps to embody our affirmation that Black Lives, Black Minds, Black Education, and Black Health, Matter – and we will continue to publish updates to this list as we accomplish certain objectives and create new ones.
Anti-Racism Task Force
Meeting Minutes
September, 2021
- Internal Communications — ARTF will develop an internal, company-wide newsletter that will keep Well Clinic updated with ARTF initiatives and encourage engagement in anti-racist workplace practices throughout the company.
- Decentering Whiteness — ARTF will bridge the monthly meetings with the decentering whiteness group. This would help increase the flow communication and accountability.
- ARTF Meeting Frequency — It was suggested that the ARTF meet more frequently perhaps on a biweekly basis.
- ARTF Anti-Racism Resources — ARTF may develop a quarterly digest of anti-racism resources,current events and action items for Well Clinic employees. This digest will provide actual action items to practice anti-racism in the workplace and at home.
- New Members — It was suggested that the facilitation group leaders work with the ARTF to recruit new ARTF members.
- ARTF Subcommittees — ARTF may establish subcommittees to oversee and lead different ARTF functions and initiatives.
August, 2021
- Although ARTF has still been meeting monthly, we have gotten behind on sharing updates from our meetings with you all. We realize this is valuable so that as a community, we can all be more informed about the inner workings at Well Clinic. So you should be getting these more regularly moving forward!
- Isaiah is planning to coordinate an event to recognize and teach about Black August.
- Maya will meet with Virginia and April of Racial Literacy Groups to review feedback from the surveys they sent out. There will also be a follow up survey sent out in the future.
- We are continuing to discuss logistics around our scholarship to fund a BIPOC therapist in training to receive therapy. For the 2022 budget, $10,000 is being factored in to provide therapy to one BIPOC clinician for one year; the plan is to have this amount increase each year so that we can fund therapy for more BIPOC therapists each year. This way there can be more predictability financially, versus relying on full fee clients to fundraise and donate to this scholarship.
- We discussed the impact on our Intake Team as frontline workers in managing the various needs of scheduling and supporting new clients, sharing news about fee changes, and generally taking on tasks that involve various internal stressors in addition to interfacing with the public.
- We discussed the importance of having internal changes and enhanced communication that help the intake team feel more supported. We see this as important in dismantling the hierarchical power in our work culture.
March 12, 2021
- Cirrena and Remi have developed a proposal for moving forward with anti-racism work as an integral part of Well Clinic work culture, built into the consultation groups. This will commence in the summer at the conclusion of the Racial Literacy Groups. More information on the logistics to come your way.
- The Well Clinic will be starting a scholarship fund for BIPOC therapists-in-training to access support from a licensed clinician while in graduate school/to meet requirements for certain graduate programs. Logistics are being finalized. Information around how this fee will be collected and clinician’s responsibility will follow shortly.
- ARTF has been collaborating with Greg on updating our website. A land acknowledgment will appear on our front page, and will hyperlink to a dedicated landing page. This page will ideally be connected to the ARTF landing page, which will also have resources and tools available both for
- BIPOC seeking support and for anti-racism advocacy work.
We will be releasing a resource document for alternatives to calling the police, pending finalizations on design.
February 12, 2021
- We discussed how to structure the De-Centering Whiteness group moving forward, in regards to curriculum for this group, and bringing in clinically focused readings. There could also be the option to have more action oriented steps involved, or even pool together resources (petitions to sign, phone banking, donations, etc.) for action oriented work moving forward. We also talked about having co-facilitators or a rotating facilitator lead the DCW group, and how to approach engagement in the group so that it can feel sustainable.
- We agreed that every consultation group should incorporate de-centering whiteness and anti-racism work; this should be incorporated as part of the paid training for intake/associates, and emphasized as part of our work culture.
- In light of the RLG affinity groups ending July 1, we want to keep momentum going and figure out what the structure and cadence of consultation could look like. This included the option of dissolving DCW and absorbing it into consultation groups in the future. Ideas were floated around continuing separate racial affinity and cross racial groups in the future; we also talked about potentially having some groups be optional for BIPOC staff. We will have continued conversations around this and will update staff.
- We plan to have a land acknowledgement on the website including a landing page with resources for Indigenous land tax, as well as hyperlinks potentially on other pages of the website. We also spoke about including anti-racism tools for people to access through these pages.
- We spoke about having a representative from ARTF be involved on our Instagram page to send suggestions of pages to follow, concerns, etc.
January 8, 2021
- We talked about whether to recruit additional staff members to the ARTF since one individual left. We also talked about consulting with the Racial Literacy Group around how to best format the group moving forward.
- We plan to establish a scholarship fund to subsidize affordable therapy with licensed clinicians for BIPOC therapists in training. In the future, our intake team will begin asking new clients if they would be interested in making financial contributions to this fund; after, we would start asking current clients. Staff will receive updates once the system is ready to roll out.
December 18, 2020
- We have created a document of resources as a means for alternatives to calling the police. This document is being organized and will be sent out to staff, as well as updated on the website.
- We talked about the new Head of Training employee and their potential role in facilitating the De-Centering Whiteness Group. This conversation will continue with ARTF members once someone is hired for the Head of Training position.
- We discussed the format of the De-Centering Whiteness group, and intent to have it be more clinically anti-racis focused, with members bringing in clinical examples, as well as providing action focused items.
October 23, 2020
- Discussed potential future course for the Decentering Whiteness group, as it relates to the upcoming Racial Literacy Groups for all staff. Planning meetings are being set up with the RLG facilitators, who will be sending out a survey to all staff soon. RLG’s are set to start in January 2021 and be incorporated into the consultation group cycle.
- Discussed outward-facing strategies including the ARTF page that Greg is making on our website, which will include links to partner organizations and regular blog posts about decentering whiteness in therapy.
- Updates from the subcommittee that has been in contact with community partners, including Community Well and Liberation Institute. Discussed timeline for being able to financially support a partner organization, with June 2021 as the target.
October 6, 2020
- We’ve hired our external consultants, Racial Literacy Groups, who we met with once already. We’ve very excited for their leadership and expertise.
- Racial Literacy Groups will be forming and facilitating affinity groups internally for all of us to participate in. Additionally, they will be collaborating with the ARTF and Directors to create a strategic plan for the company to follow in furthering our work to be an anti-racist organization.
- The Financial sub-committee has met with several community mental health organizations to begin narrowing down our search for a partner to contribute to financially. Lots of research and phone conversations are underway.
- The Communications sub-committee has received the survey and we discussed it in the larger group. Thank you to everyone who participated! The results indicate that many of you are committed to using your pro-bono and sliding scale slots to create more opportunities for clients with lower incomes to access services. Several of you would like to see more diversity in your clientele and to have a greater connection to community organizations with social justice missions. Most respondents indicated a desire to see more BIPOC in leadership positions, education and training on race and diversity for staff, and more diverse staff. We were thrilled to read this and feel gratitude and alignment with the larger community goals.
August 30, 2020
- Well Clinic donated to CommUNITY towards a support group for clinicians of color working in mental health. We are financially assisting one clinician of color to go through the group. — We will look for similar opportunities that align with our desire to support BIPOC clinician wellness and clinicians supporting other clinicians, which in turn impacts clients with marginalized identities.
- As of 2020, Well Clinic has contributed and will annually contribute to the Shuumi Land Tax, run by the Sogorea Te Land Trust – a non-profit organization led by Indigenous women in the East Bay who do land reclaiming for psychological projects through land tax. — We feel this is a necessary commitment to honor the stolen land our business currently operates on.
- New hire candidates will be asked questions around their understanding of radicalized dynamics beginning in the interview process. — We will seek candidates who have a desire and foundation to build upon, and provide opportunity for growth through continual training.
- Well Clinic is looking to partner with an external consulting company for long-term structural and clinical consulting. — Details to be confirmed.
