In the current context, more and more people have tried to deconstruct ways of living that they consider old or outdated, and start to question the ready truths of society of how to act, behave and even think.
According to Djamila Ribeiro, black philosopher, feminist and writer, the place we occupy in society brings us different experiences and perspectives. Thus, the place of speech aims to provide visibility to subjects whose thoughts have been disregarded for a long time.
Among the minorities most affected by the neglect of their place of speech, are the black population, the victims of chauvinism and racism, women and LBGTQIA+ populations.
In order to be able to cover the human being as a whole in his therapeutic practices, the professional must take into account his own life history, expand the awareness of the class he occupies socially and the different ways of experiencing reality.
Racism
Many black people are no longer comfortable looking for a therapist who does not understand their background and how it impacts their life and way of existing. The demand for professionals from different social realities and sexual orientations, for example, are very much taken into account when choosing the therapist, as the client has been seeking to be welcomed and understood.
Transphobia
In addition to having your own place of speech clear, from which the therapist can share experiences and knowledge that can help the client to have more confidence in the therapeutic relationship, it is necessary to evaluate your own prejudices with different speech locations.
In the face of increasing diversity, with people who feel free or seek to feel free to be as they are and to manifest this healthily in society, the therapist needs to be aware of their level of tolerance in dialogues with social classes, opinions and points of view.
Example
The therapist’s history, social class, race, sex and gender can give the therapist a unique place of speech, from which he can bring significant contributions to interventions and to the development of new fields of study, creating new ways of approaching the therapeutical techniques.
Validation
We live in a society whose structured hierarchy means that intellectual productions, knowledge and the voices of minorities are treated in an inferior way, causing these people to remain in a silenced place. Therefore, it is part of the therapist’s orientation not to subdue, belittle, or devalue the different places of speech of clients. Accepting and encouraging diversity is recognizing that each human being is unique and deserves its space.
Update
The updated therapist seeks to open space to learn about different realities, and seeks to understand and respect what each individual brings in contribution, allowing freedom so that the client can recognize and understand this space to organize and speak with propriety from it.
Context
The therapeutic setting is the appropriate place for the different voices to take space and to be able to manifest themselves from the reception and understanding of the professional. Based on the confidence established in the sessions, the individual ends up taking what he learns in therapy into the personal life, and feels safe to occupy his place of speech with tranquility and in a productive way.
And do you, therapist, know your place of speech? Do you take into account the different social realities in your service and in your relationship with customers?