In Volume 2: Beverly, you'll meet Beverly, a retired, African American woman who comes to her sessions with no presenting problems. Together, she and Travis Heath, PhD begin a conversation that leads to important revelations. Heath believes that it is not his role to show up as an expert, or pretend to be neutral, but rather to bring himself fully into relationship with the client full. In doing so, he creates a level playing field on which he can be a genuine, present and engaged fellow traveler along the client’s road to selfhood. He does so by crafting thought-provoking questions, helping the client to externalize rather than internalize their so-called “problems.”

Through careful note taking he crafts questions that deepen the conversation and expand, rather than constrict the client’s story. And in the case of Beverly, who we will meet in this video, he shows us how to invite the client to “get into good trouble” that allows them to resist dominant ways of being and structures of power that perpetuate racism and gender inequity.

We will sit in with Heath and his client Beverly, a retired African American teacher, who presents with no identified or apparent presenting problem. A woman who began her journey as a shy, bullied, and marginalized child, and later, teen, she found meaning and value in her studies, sense of resourcefulness, and an evolving unapologetic way of being in her skin and the world. Through family support and growing self-confidence, she learned that in spite of the fact that, “life wasn't always pretty and people weren't always kind,” that it was more important to live into the credo of, “to thine own self be true.” She also learned that because she lived in a racist society that sought to limit her as a Black person, she had to “work twice as hard to get half as much.” so it became important for her to set and always reach for higher goals for herself. As she grew, Beverly took pride in standing up for herself and others, and in her words, “fighting the power.” While she experienced what a traditional therapist might consider depression, her time with Heath provides her with the opportunity to build a counter-story to this otherwise pathologizing self-narrative and deepen her sense of “going out in the world as Beverly, a woman who was determined not to be judged by the color of her skin.  

In this volume, Heath will show you how to:

• Encourage clients through the use of questions and stories drawn from their own experiences to craft narratives that embody their core values
• Invite clients to challenge dominant stories about themselves and their lives
• Open sessions with strengths of moral character inquiries and the stories surrounding them
• Learn to be comfortable in uncomfortable therapeutic spaces that arise when racism and oppression enter the room
• Rethink what you write in your session notes and how you use them in session
• Separate people from their problems so they don’t see themselves as deficient, but instead as capable of standing up to and overcoming a problem
• Bring yourself fully into the therapeutic relationship and share your reactions to the stories your clients share