This qualitative study explores the experiences of Black psychodynamic and psychoanalytic clinicians navigating transference, countertransference, and race within clinical and institutional contexts. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven Black-identifying clinicians who integrate psychodynamic frameworks in their practice. Participants reflected on how racial identity intersects with clinical presence, emotional labor, and relationships with patients, supervisors, and institutions. Thematic analysis identified seven domains: racial identity and clinical presence; transference, countertransference, and racial dynamics; challenges of Black psychologists-in-training; systemic racism in clinical institutions; recommendations for early career Black clinicians; recommendations for training institutions; and culturally sensitive and decolonial approaches to therapy. Clinicians described experiences of racial projections, misattunement, rupture and repair, and the burden of navigating predominantly white clinical systems. Findings are situated within literature on racial identity, relational theory, and institutional power. Strengths and limitations—such as the qualitative design, sample characteristics, and psychodynamic focus—are discussed. Implications include concrete recommendations for training, supervision, and institutional reform. This study contributes to a growing body of literature calling for racially conscious, culturally grounded psychodynamic practice by centering the lived experiences of Black clinicians.
Lamar Kelvin Nero (Thu,) studied this question.