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Social Identities & Rashomon Effects in Counselling & Psychotherapy with Diverse Clients

Intersectionality refers to the capacity of individuals to hold multiple significant social identities. There is now widespread acknowledgement that recognizing intersectionality is crucial for delivering effective multicultural counselling and psychotherapy. Specifically, there are seven categories of social identity with major significance for current counselling and psychotherapy: race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class, disability, age, and religion. Yet, little is known about how these different aspects of social identity actually become salient and exert influence within psychotherapeutic processes. The current project draws on social identity theory to propose a novel model, which describes how distinct aspects of social identity appear—and sometimes contradict each other—within individual therapy. The project relies upon case studies to explore and elaborate this novel model.


Project Team

Naseem Rine-Reesha, MA, MEd, is an EdD candidate in Counselling Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

Rine-Reesha's research interests include critical multicultural counselling and psychotherapy, integrative psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and analytical psychology, career/vocational counselling, and counsellor education and supervision. Rine-Reesha works as a psychodynamic therapist in private practice. Rine-Reesha's background also includes poetry and drama studies, composition, and performance. 

Sara Azarshahi, EdD (candidate) in Counselling & Psychotherapy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

Azarshahi was raised in the Netherlands and comes from an Iranian background, which has helped her appreciate various worldviews and alternative ways of knowing. Azarshahi’s research interests include critical multicultural counselling, traditional healing and culturally integrative treatment, and diversity in practice. Azarshahi is dedicated to integrating knowledge and clinical practice to improve mental health service access for those who come from diverse ethno-racial identities. 

Hayley Mangotich, MEd, completed her graduate degree at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

As a clinician, Mangotich is committed to integrating research and practice to meaningfully support people across diverse social locations. Mangotich's research interests include critical multicultural counselling and psychotherapy.

Roy Moodley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology & Human Development (APHD) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (ÃÈÃÃÉçÇø). Prof. Moodley's teaching, publications, and research interests include critical multicultural and diversity counselling and psychotherapy; race, culture and psychoanalysis; politics of Identity; global south psychologies, traditional healing and mixed race relationships.