In this book Dr. Jonathan Lassiter uses the history and current practice of Western psychology interwoven with his lived experience to demonstrate how psychology as we know it (here in the US) fails to serve Black and other minoritized populations. He connects childhood memories, his years in school, and notable events in his professional career as examples of the barriers present in the system as we know it now. Dr. Lassiter's voice comes through clearly and feels intimate even as he refers to other scholarly works and showcases his intelligence. There were occasions in which the structure of how he explained a key concept (like whiteness mindset) felt a bit scattered and out of order. I would read it and feel confused, or as if it wasn't fully explained, and then my question would be answered later than I would have liked. I'm willing to chalk that up to personal preference, though. A key point of further exploration I would have liked to hear was Dr. Lassiter's thoughts on psychology as a practice separate from spirituality. He referred to several spiritual practices as alternatives to the current predominantly white ones and I wondered if he saw them as distinct or if psychology and spirituality wouldn't be differentiated in an ideal he pictures.

Some really interesting ideas in here both about the ways in which a whiteness mentality affects all the things but also some new and interesting things as it relates to psychology specifically. Having said that, I agree with an earlier reviewer about tone and assumptions and language (bitch reference and using the principle argument a spiritual one).

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing | Legacy Lit for sending me a free eARC in exchange for my review.

The concepts in this book are things that should be taught in schools, and especially in psychology programs, yet sadly are becoming more erased by the day. Even for therapists who consider themselves “culturally competent” — this book will have many new things for you to consider.

Some of the opinions and assumptions in the book were off-putting, (like referring to a woman he didn’t like as a “bitch”), but the information and research is fascinating.