A Seat at Our Own Table: Showing Up Unapologetically and Being Fully Seen

Over the last decade, the US psychology workforce has seen an increase in racial and ethnic diversity due to attempts to recruit more students of color into training programs. Such changes are crucial, particularly given the increasing diversity of the U.S. population as a whole and the need for clinicians and researchers who can understand the needs of this diverse population. Students of color within doctoral psychology programs face a unique set of challenges including discrimination, inadequate support, re-traumatization by microaggressions, tokenization and inadequate matched mentoring. However, for professional psychology to truly cultivate a more diverse workforce, the field must 1) recruit 2) retain by promoting and supporting these individuals during training, 3) vigorously recruit and support faculty of color to mentor diverse students. This paper will also provide a case study to highlight the value of one strategy, affinity groups which are exclusively for students of color like A Seat at the Table to facilitate retention of graduate students of color within doctoral psychology training programs