What supervisors are saying and not saying about culture, privilege and equity in mental health settings

Reflective supervision is a relationship-based strategy for professionals that supports their growth and development through a trusting and safe connection. Although there has been research on both clinical and reflective supervision's benefits to those in the infant mental health field, the literature review indicates a gap in the research involving issues of culture and diversity within the supervisory relationship. Additionally, from a lens of diversity, the current data tends to address the experience of White professionals. This research team intentionally set out to gather the opinions of BIPOC professionals. As a result, the data set includes 52% BIPOC professionals and 47% White professionals. In order to advance this important topic, this study investigates how issues of culture and diversity are addressed, or not addressed, for mental health trainees, clinicians, and allied professionals within the infant mental health community. While the professional roots of this research team are embedded in infant mental health, our sample was not restricted to this community. It is the hope that the findings from this research will inspire others to take the initiative to contribute significantly to the field with an inclusive lens and focus. This research was conducted in the United States of America.