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In this workshop, we will hear from two incredible speakers who will reflect on their experiences of navigating and indeed, decentering whiteness in academic environments. We are delighted to be joined by Professor Divine Charura (YSJ, School of Education, Language and Psychology) and Dr Karisha George (UoY, Department of Psychology).

Following our speaker contributions, attendees will be encouraged to reflect on their experiences and strategies for ‘decentering whiteness’ for the final hour. Please prepare for this by sharing any notes/written pieces/blogs/artwork with us beforehand, which we can disseminate to the attendee list.

Event Schedule:

• 1pm- Short Introduction from the Anti-Racism Working Group.

• 1-1:15pm- Reflections from Divine Charura.

• 1:15-1:30pm- Reflections from Karisha George.

• 1:30-2:30pm- Interactive Audience Discussion led by the Anti-Racism Working Group.

• 2:30pm- Event close.

Following the online event, we plan to create a co-constructed ‘Manifesto’ which will be made available on our website as a tool for best practice. All attendees who wish to be included in this piece will be credited and named as co-authors. A draft of the Manifesto will be shared with all attendees for review and to confirm that they consent to their inclusion as a named author.

The ARWG has an online blog platform whereby PhD students and Early Career researchers are invited to publish 800-word pieces on a monthly basis. If you would like to submit a blog for our March 2024 on the topic of discussion for the workshop (Decentering Whiteness), please drop us an email on antiracismworkinggroup@gmail.com. We particularly encourage reflexive and autoethnographic submissions for our March 2024 issue.

Speaker Information:

Professor Divine Charura: Is a HCPC-registered Counselling Psychologist and UKCP registered Psychtherapist. Divine holds a BSc (Hons) in Counselling and Therapeutic Studies, and an MSc degree Public Health and Health Promotion and another MA degree in Psychotherapy. He completed his Doctorate in Counselling Psychology at Teesside University.

Divine has worked as a clinician in a range of clinical settings including the NHS, voluntary and private sectors, in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Prior to joining York St John University as a Professor in Counselling Psychology and programme director for the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology, he worked at Leeds Beckett University where he worked for 10 years. He initially started out my teaching career as a lecturer, then as a senior lecturer in counselling and psychotherapy and then later as a course director for all the postgraduate courses offered within the Psychological Therapies and Mental Health Team.

Dr Karisha George: Karisha Kimone George began her tertiary education in Trinidad and Tobago completing her undergraduate in Psychology and Sociology at the University of the West Indies. She then moved to the United Kingdom to complete her Masters in Applied Forensic Psychology and PhD in Psychology at the University or York. She came to the University of York in 2021 after completing her first Post-Doctoral position at Newman University followed by her first lectureship at De Montfort University. Her favourite word is 'predicament', but only when spoken in exactly the same manner as John Travolta in 'Face Off'. Her research interests are varied and include -

• Student resilience: how students adapt to their university experiences

• Thinking patterns: understanding the impact of thinking patterns and their complexity such as meaning making or negative/positive thinking

• Religiosity: exploring the impact of conceptualisations of Gods/deities on mental health and well-being

• Narrative approach: exploring what individuals’ narratives can tell us about their levels of well-being

• Protective factors: understanding the meaning making processes through which protective factors buffer individuals during times of stress

• Criminal behaviour: examining the relationship between mental illness and criminal behaviour