Black Mental Health and the New Millennium: Historical and Current Perspective on Cultural Trauma and ‘Everyday’ Racism in White Mental Health Spaces — The Impact on the Psychological Well-being of Black Mental Health Professionals

Roger Kline in his report Snowy White Peaks (2014) reported that in the National Health Service (NHS) the proportion of senior managers who are Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) had not increased since 2008 – but had fallen over the previous three years. Such data suggest that discrimination is still a problem within the NHS. Kline also found the NHS treats BME staff less favourably than white staff in their recruitment, promotion and career progression. Kline’s findings suggest that NHS discriminatory practices favour white applicants and are a predictor of patient care. Kline also reported that these same BME staff were significantly more likely to be bullied at work. Much like those BME Kline reported in his study who were bullied, I was a victim of bullying in the NHS as well, so much so I decided to no longer work for the NHS and work privately. This is not an uncommon occurrence for people of colour – my colleagues who work for the NHS often complain how difficult it is to work in the NHS due to the constant bullying, harassment, abuse, and negative racialised interactions/communications between Blacks and whites (e.g. daily and constant insulting micro-aggressions in the workplace/training institutions, see further description of micro-aggression below) (Guttridge, 2020). The bullying is not always blatant but more often it is ‘coded’/nonverbal – a look, stare, stance or being the last one in the queue constantly for admin support/assistance, e.g. typing up assessments, letters, etc. Or it’s the support staff’s unwillingness ever it seems to help you in the same way they do with white staff who they often cannot do enough for. If you are a person of colour working in the NHS your work/contributions are valued less and you are usually criticised more. Many Black colleagues for these reasons despise working for the NHS. Beside Kline’s research, where is the evidence for such claims? You see it with your own eyes every day how your white colleagues are treated and how you and your Black colleagues are treated! Every person of colour (and white ones too if they being honest) who are reading this will understand exactly what I am saying, if they have ever worked in the NHS¹. I would be remiss here if I did not as well mention the inequalities around racialised work references, supervisors do for whites versus references that they do for Black workers. People of colour constantly complain of unfair differential/racialised references they receive when compared with white colleagues for comparable work. White supervisors know they are often only providing people of colour low/biased racialised references, so do their managers, and no one say anything or does anything about it! These differential/racialised references stay with the Black candidate for the rest of their working career and lives and these differential/racialised references can ruin careers or, at the very least, be a barrier to future employment options and climbing up the ladder. Differential/racialised references are both unethical and immoral. And much more research needs to be carried out on these racialised injustices in the workplace that people of colour have complained about for years, while NHS supervisors and management turn their backs and constantly deny it happens or is happening.