Promoting equity & diversity

We acknowledge and respect the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples on whose traditional territory the university stands, and the Songhees, Esquimalt and WSÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.”

STATEMENT FROM THE GROUP FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMANRIGHTS IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA

The UVic Department of Psychology is committed to supporting an equitable, diverse, and inclusive environment for our students, faculty, and staff.

  • We encourage an awareness of diversity in all its many forms as a key determinant of human behaviour and wellbeing.
  • We acknowledge and seek to overcome the historical and current barriers to success and wellbeing that many individuals experience because of their backgrounds and identities.
  • We seek to foster awareness, critical thinking, and collaborativeness in our students so that they can live and work productively in a diverse society.

If you have questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions relating to equity, diversity, and inclusiveness in UVic’s Department of Psychology, please contact the EDI committee via email to .

 

Psychology Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee

The Department of Psychology Equity and Diversity Committee is made up of students and faculty in the Department of Psychology who are interested in supporting equity and diversity initiatives in the department. The committee meets monthly during the academic year to plan departmental events, to discuss how university initiatives might be implemented within the department, and to consider ways to support an inclusive departmental environment.

image

Unpacking Psychology (UP!) Club

The Unpacking Psychology Club seeks to diversify perspectives within the Psychology department, and to create connection and a sense of belonging within the department and the community. We are a club with both undergraduate and graduate student members. We also put on events for students throughout the year to learn more about diversity and inclusion issues in the community and in research.

 

To Learn More

upclub.uvic@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/uvicupc.ca

 

Ongoing Events:

DiversiTea

Bi-monthly discussions with a psychology professor about how they have been able or unable to incorporate diversity into their research and teaching career

image

Identity Posters

Every other month we highlight a psychology professor by asking them the simple question “How do you identify?” to recognize the stories and diversity within our department’s faculty members.

Wool Washing

Together with CARTE (Centre for Autism Research, Teaching, and Engagement), we visit Elder May Sam of the Tsartlip Nation in the Fall and Spring to learn, appreciate, and value Indigenous practices of wool washing while also listening to Elder May and Elder Skip’s (her husband) stories. It is an honour to be welcomed onto their land and home.

 

Statement in Support of Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter. We oppose all acts of racism and police brutality. We see and hear the righteous pain and outrage caused by the continued and senseless loss of Black lives due to systemic inequality and racism. We acknowledge the pain and trauma that members of the Black community are experiencing.

Current events emphasize the stark reality that racism pervades our society. Racism and police brutality are not only American problems – they are problems in Canada as well, and a daily reality for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) in Canada.

The global pandemic has created health concerns, financial struggles, and emotional stresses that disproportionately affect BIPOC. Recent incidents of anti-Black racism and police brutality reinforce collective trauma for Black Canadians, who have long lived with a reality of ongoing injustice and inequities. As educators and psychologists, we cannot sit silent as people around the world rise up to fight for Black lives. We need to listen and do the work of learning how we each contribute to and perpetuate these inequalities. And we must speak out against injustice and work to promote equity and inclusivity in our classes, in our institution, and in our society. We must all do better. And while there are no simple answers to this complex problem, here are some first steps to help guide our way forward. We hope these will help.

Sincerely,

Cathy Costigan, Danu Anthony Stinson, Louise Chim, & Erica Woodin

Department of Psychology, University of Victoria

Step 1: Donate

Step 2: Learn

Anti-Black racism in Canada and around the world

  1. Desmond Cole’s book The Skin We’re In, which addresses systemic anti-Black injustices and police violence in Canada , as well as a related film directed by Charles Officer, and a recent article on the book.
  2. Yes, Canada Has a Racism Crisis and It’s Killing Black and Indigenous Peoples– By Pam Palmater
  3. Can We Talk About Canada’s Racism Problem At Universities?– By Victoria Rodney
  4. Navigating Racism On Campus Can Be A Lonely Experience– By Anita Jack-Davies
  5. Rachel Elizabeth Cargle is an educator and activist who offers a variety of learning opportunities, curated on her Instagram page.
  6. Making Sense of the Senseless– By Colleen Flaherty
  7. Canada Has Race-Based Police Violence Too. We Don’t Know How Much– By Natasha Simpson
  8. Ibram X. Kendi’s Antiracist Reading List

Privilege

  1. Dear White People, This is What We Want you to Do– By Kandise Le Blanc
  2. Anti-Racism For Kids 101: Starting To Talk About Race– By Books for Littles
  3. Your Kids aren’t too young to talk about race– By Katrina Michie
  4. My White Friend Asked Me on Facebook to Explain White Privilege. I Decided to Be Honest– By Lari Lakin Hutcherson
  5. ‘Model Minority’ Myth Again Used as a Racial Wedge Between Asians and Blacks– By Kat Chow

Step 3: Act

Individual action to address racial injustice

  1. UVic Anti-Racism Education Program
  2. 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice– By Corinne Shutack
  3. 20+ Allyship Actions for Asians to Show Up for the Black Community Right now– Michelle Kim
  4. Crowd-Sourced Anti-racism resources

Talking about anti-Black racism and police brutality in your classes (if you aren’t sure how this subject may be relevant to your class, we are happy to help)

  1. Advice for supporting your Black students right now (concrete advice in the replies)– By Gerald Higginbotham
  2. Anti-racism teacher resources from the BC Teachers’ Federation
  3. 15 Classroom Resources for Discussing Racism, Policing, and Protest– By Sarah Schwartz
  4. Research-based solutions to end police violence– By Samuel Sinyangwe
  5. Anti-Racist classroom reading list– By Nura Ali and Annie Canto

Systemic interventions in clinical practice

  1. Corneau, S., & Stergiopoulis, V. (2012). More than being against it: Anti-racism and anti-opression in mental health services. Transcultural Psychiatry, 49, 261-282. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461512441594
  2. Motulsky, S. L., Gere, S. H., Saleem, R., & Trantham, S. M. (2014). Teaching social justice in counseling psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 42, 1058–1083. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000014553855
  3. Ratts, M.J., Singh, A.A., Nassar‐McMillan, S., Butler, S.K. and McCullough, J.R. (2016). Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies: Guidelines for the Counseling Profession. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 44: 28-48. https://doi:10.1002/jmcd.12035
  4. Sue, D. W., Alsaidi, S., Awad, M. N., Glaeser, E., Calle, C. Z., & Mendez, N. (2019). Disarming racial microaggressions: Microintervention strategies for targets, White allies, and bystanders. American Psychologist, 74(1), 128–142. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000296
  5. Whiteness Matters: Exploring White Privilege, Color Blindness and Racism in Psychotherapyby Margaret Clausen

Diversity Science in the Department

Equity and Diversity Resources on Campus

Instructors, faculty, and graduate students are welcome to enroll in our “Decolonizing Approaches to Teaching Psychology” Brightspace hub. This resource hub is intended to provide a centralized space for members of the department to access and share teaching materials related to Indigenizing and decolonizing the teaching of psychology. To request access please contact paweenas@uvic.ca.