Hayden Dawes on Color Blindness in Mental Health & The Illusion of Certainty

Pure Curiosity with Iris McAlpin

A few months ago I read an article titled An Invitation to White Therapists by Hayden Dawes, and immediately wanted to invite him onto my podcast. In the article (which I highly recommend reading) he unequivocally calls out problematic behavior and attitudes he's observed in the White mental health community, but in a way that shows his commitment to communal healing and grace. In all of our interactions I've been struck by his humility, dedication to living authentically, and his playfulness. These are qualities I think our world could use more of, so I'm very excited to share this conversation with you! As usual we cover a wide range of topics, from coming out in the Catholic Church to embracing the free fall of uncertainty. I hope you'll listen all the way to the end for some gems on the vulnerability of anger and it's value for transformation.

About Our Guest:

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Hayden earned his masters of social work degree from North Carolina State University in 2014. Following graduation, he provided mental health treatment and case management to diverse populations in various settings including inpatient, outpatient, and the community. His practice experience includes hospital social work, mental health and addiction treatment, in addition to people involved in the legal system.

In service to the profession, he has served as communications chair of the board of directors and vice-president to the North Carolina Society for Clinical Social Work. He currently maintains professional membership with the Society for Social Work and Research, the North Carolina Society for Clinical Social Work, National Association of Social Workers (NASW), and the American Academy of Psychotherapy (AAP). He is currently in private practice at the AHB Center for Behavioral Health and Wellness in Durham, NC, where he provides mental health treatment to primarily people of color and LGBTQIA+ identified adults.

In August 2019, he began pursuing his Ph.D. in Social Work at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to further his research in examining the psychosocial challenges impacting people of color and LGBTQIA+ individuals, while seeking advanced methods to intervene on provider implicit and explicit biases.

Learn more: www.hcdawes.com

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