Reclaiming Humanity amidst Injustice: A Contextual Behavioral Science Skills-Based Approach to Social Connection Across Cultural Differences

The past year has demonstrated in blunt form how racism, sexism, and other forces of oppression are still deeply rooted in our societies, with toxic and deadly impacts. We are alarmed and appalled by the sharp increase in explicit acts of hatred which have recently occurred across multiple nations, just as we are concerned about the less visible, longstanding manifestations of oppression that have existed for centuries. At the same time, we recognize developments in psychological science that suggest that bias and prejudice exist as normative psychological processes on both an implicit and explicit level. These biases operate within all human beings, including well-meaning individuals who disavow hatred and oppression and espouse deeply held pro-social values – and even within communities that aspire to be safe havens of peace and love, like ACBS.

We believe that contextual-behavioral science (CBS) harbors abundant and largely untapped potential for addressing these problems in a global context. This two-day workshop is a direct application of CBS principles to the psychological processes that function as obstacles to connection across cultural differences. These principles and processes will be engaged with recognition of the broader context of institutional and structural forms of oppression. We will adopt an intersectional framework that explores how interpersonal contexts where we encounter difference (across race, gender, sexual orientation and many other identities) can result in a range of outcomes from experiences of disconnection and invalidating microaggressions to meaningful and intimate exchanges and deep connectedness.

The workshop will be largely experiential, with exercises grounded in a contextual-behavioral understanding of behavior change and applicable to participants inclusive of all nationalities. The specific processes of ACT and the five rules of FAP will be applied in this uncharted territory of connecting across cultural difference. Acceptance, defusion, and self-focused exercises are designed to increase awareness of sources of anxiety and bias that influence our behavior, and small-group exercises are designed to facilitate sustainable, intentional behavior change in intercultural interactions. We aim to produce more than a transient “feel good” experience. Rather, we aim to help attendees walk the difficult walk of utilizing CBS principles in moments that matter, whether they are interactions at a work meeting, a dinner with extended family, or a clinical encounter. In recognition of the challenging nature of these encounters, self-compassion exercises will be infused to facilitate a sense of connectedness, self-care, and present-moment focus during difficult dialogues. The theoretical and empirical foundations of exercises will be discussed and the workshop will also focus on generalizing the experiential work into the daily-life contexts of attendees through modeling, role-play practice, and feedback. Each participant will be asked to identify committed actions they can take to benefit the ACBS community throughout the World Conference, in their clinical work, and within their home communities.

The presenters have been developing, presenting and refining the ideas and exercises that will inform this workshop for several years and across multiple contexts. Empirical support for the CBS-informed exercises that will be engaged in the workshop have been demonstrated by two recent randomized controlled trials. Participants who engaged in these interventions demonstrated improved (more empathic and less biased) behavior when in clinical encounters with patients of color, and heightened feelings of connectedness and understanding when in inter-racial interactions that generalized to other members of out-groups not in attendance. In this workshop we will broaden an application of these mechanisms beyond race to multiple cultural identities.

Please note: the presenters are equal collaborators. They are listed alphabetically.

About Robyn L. Gobin, Ph.D.: 

Robyn L. Gobin, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist in Champaign, Illinois and an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC). Dr. Gobin directs the Transforming Trauma and Mental Health Lab where her research focuses on alleviating the mental health effects of interpersonal trauma by developing and testing interventions, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), for culturally diverse trauma-exposed populations. She also investigates the efficacy of ACT as a mental health stigma reduction intervention, technology-based mental health interventions, and the impact of African American culture on trauma recovery. At UIUC, Dr. Gobin developed Trauma, Diversity, and Resilience, a graduate level course that explores mental health disparities and how multiple intersecting cultural identities impact trauma recovery. Dr. Gobin maintains a private practice focused on women’s wellness and interpersonal trauma recovery. Her clinical interests include empirically supported therapies for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mindfulness and acceptance-based therapies with women and other marginalized groups. Dr. Gobin advocates for social justice and promotes multiculturalism and culturally competent service delivery as a member of various community boards and professional committees, including the American Psychological Association’s Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues.

About Daniel C. Rosen, Ph.D.:

Daniel C. Rosen, Ph.D., is professor and chair of the Department of Counseling and Health Psychology and the Director of The Daniel K. Church Center for Social Justice & Diversity at Bastyr University. He earned a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Arizona State University after completing his Predoctoral Internship at the Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology at Boston Medical Center/Boston University School of Medicine. He completed his Postdoctoral Fellowship in Behavioral Medicine at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Rosen’s scholarship is focused in multicultural psychology, and has explored issues of ethnic identity, social justice in mental health, addressing disparities in access to and quality of mental health services, and antisemitism-related stress. Dr. Rosen is the co-editor of the recently published book, Eliminating Race Based Mental Health Disparities (New Harbinger). He has a private practice in Seattle, WA.