Hello CCTP graduates,
The world has changed so much since we last connected with you via this seasonal newsletter. I hope this letter finds you managing whatever challenges this time has presented for you, as best you can.
While CCTP class of 2018 was steeped in its first week in Wellfleet, the NY Attorney General and long-time champion of women’s rights, Eric Schneiderman, was accused of sexual abuse. The occurrence of this event during our time together stimulated painful, but ultimately productive conversations in the group, about what it is like to be a woman in a male dominated world. Women talked about our vulnerability as women, physically and emotionally, and insisted on being asked, not told, about our experiences. I was aware that since the #MeToo movement began in 2017, the women in my life were talking, talking, talking (we women tend to do that!) sharing our “me too” experiences. Every woman had a story to tell. However, when I asked the men in my life if they were talking to each other or asking the women in their lives questions about “me too,” I found that men were not talking or asking. I felt despair. How will things change for women if there is no reckoning from men? They did not endure sleepless nights at age 14, wondering how to manage the terror of getting on the subway the next day, in a skirt, (required school attire) after being groped in a crowded rush hour train the day before. #Me Too might raise men’s awareness in the moment, but then it can fade into the background. That is a privilege. And, so it is with racial violence and inequity for me, as a white woman. My white privilege means that when I found myself driving through a stop sign yesterday, late at night, only to see a State Police car parked on the corner, my worst worry was getting pulled over and getting a ticket. The killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, just to name a few of the victims of racial violence from these past few months, have stimulated a deeper personal and professional reckoning for me - I have not taken responsibility for maintaining my attention and commitment to racial inequities. I must be intentional and commit to ongoing action steps, personally and professionally.
After CCTP 2018, the faculty acknowledged amongst ourselves, that we weren’t doing an essential part of our job, that is, creating opportunities for participants to explore and address gender, cultural and racial biases. In teaching practitioners to use the Cape Cod Model, we must engage them in learning about their own cultural, gender and racial biases, as well as accounting for the differences in our clients, and their cultural/social and gender contexts. The Cape Cod Model is built on “seeing what is,” and using “the data” when we give feedback. It is also true that what I see and what you see will be different, depending on where we come from, our own gender, cultural and racial biases. Faculty has now made changes to the CCTP 2020/2021 design, to include attention to gender, social and racial sensitivity. It is our responsibility to act.
Jewish tradition teaches:
“You are not obliged to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”
I am excited to share that as an organization, GISC has moved into action in this area as well. This Fall, GISC is offering two new forums for confronting our own biases and racism from a Gestalt perspective.
The Humility Project
co-led by Carol Brockmon and Marcy Crary, and
Eyes Wide Open
co-led by Ann Carr and Roderick Allen. Please check the website and join us.
I would love to hear from you about how the increased attention to racial inequities has impacted or inspired you.
Warmly,
Sharona (on behalf of Carol, Nancy, Joe and Stuart)