Exploring Systemic Trauma and Relational Privilege with BIPOC and LGBTQI Couples: An interview with Akilah Riley-Richardson

Curt and Katie chat with Akilah Riley Richardson, MSW about the challenges therapists face when working with BIPOC and LGBTQI couples. Akilah discusses the impact of systemic trauma, how it affects relationships, and the importance of creating therapeutic models tailored to marginalized communities. She introduces The PRIDE Model for therapy and The BIOME Stance for therapists, offering actionable strategies for inclusive, trauma-informed care.

Transcripts for this episode will be available at mtsgpodcast.com!

In this podcast episode, we talk with Akilah Riley-Richardson about what therapists get wrong when working with BIPOC and LGBTQI couples

Too often, couples counselors take traditional models and make slight tweaks for couples from marginalized backgrounds, with little success. Akilah Riley-Richardson has developed a stance and a new model to help support therapists in doing more effective work with these couples.  

Understanding Systemic Trauma in Therapy

• Defining systemic trauma: Chronic, unpredictable, and disenfranchised trauma caused by systemic forces (education, legal, and healthcare systems).
• Examples of systemic trauma: Microaggressions, mispronounced names, assumptions about authority roles, and misgendering.
• Effects on individuals and relationships: Reduced sense of safety, rejection sensitivity, emotional disconnect, and difficulty setting boundaries.

Challenges in Therapy with BIPOC and LGBTQI Couples

• Common therapist mistakes:
• Ignoring systemic realities and the impact of privilege.
• Adapting existing models without acknowledging their white, cishet origins.
• Failing to create trauma-informed, inclusive frameworks.
• Importance of relational privilege: Self-acceptance, social acceptance, and feeling protected in relationships.

The PRIDE Model & The BIOME Stance from Akilah Riley-Richardson

• PRIDE Model for Therapy:
• Relational curiosity: Actively exploring the client's lived experiences.
• Setting intentions: Creating space for safety and vulnerability.
• Trauma work: Addressing systemic trauma's long-term impact on relationships.
• BIOME Stance for Therapists:
• Bravery: Facing discomfort in recognizing privilege.
• Intimacy: Fostering deep emotional connections.
• Openness: Being receptive to client experiences.
• Micro-liberatory movements: Small but impactful actions toward social justice.
• Epistemic embracing: Validating client knowledge and lived experiences.

How Therapists Can Engage Clients in Systemic Trauma Work

• Transparency in therapy: Clearly communicating the goal of liberation.
• Allowing resistance: Accepting client pushback as an assertion of power.
• Embracing uncertainty: Being comfortable with not having all the answers.
• Participating in decolonization conversations: Learning through community engagement and allyship.

Stay in Touch with Curt, Katie, and the whole Therapy Reimagined #TherapyMovement:

Our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/therapyreimagined

Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide Creative Credits:

Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/

Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano https://groomsymusic.com/