Kira Banks

Kira Hudson Banks is an associate professor in the department of psychology at Saint Louis University. Her research examines the experience of discrimination, its impact on mental health, and how members of marginalized groups learn to adopt and psychologically distance themselves from the negative ideologies put forth by systems of oppression. She has published in journals such as American Psychologist, Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, and The Harvard Business Review and popular media outlets such as Huffington Post and The Atlantic. As a consultant, she has worked with schools, communities, institutions of higher education and corporations to improve diversity and inclusion efforts and to engage people in productive dialogue and action. She served as a racial equity consultant for the Ferguson Commission and the Racial Equity Catalyst for Forward Through Ferguson. She received her BA from Mount Holyoke College, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, and her MA and PhD from the University of Michigan.

Current Work:

There is a lack of psychological interventions to guide clinicians in supporting individuals who are impacted by systemic racism. Despite being well versed in psychopathology (e.g., trauma, anxiety or depression), many clinicians are ill equipped to navigate the dynamics in the context of systemic racism. One manifestation of racism that often goes overlooked is the internalization of negative messages. Internalized racial oppression, which Dr. Banks conceptualized as the appropriation or adoption of negative beliefs about one's group, is one pathway through which racism impacts mental health. Techniques from Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) have been found to decrease internalized negative messages and to mitigate negative mental health symptoms in self-stigmatizing groups such as alcoholism and substance use. This study investigates if ACT has the same outcomes in the context of internalized racial oppression. This study also investigates the feasibility and utility of a protocol designed to decrease the effects of internalized racial oppression on well-being among a sample of Black women. The intervention consists of six 90-minute sessions in a group setting. The ideas and intervention presented attempt to center individuals impacted by racism as agents with inherent dignity who are worthy of psychological interventions that promote healing.

The technique cognitive defusion, or creating cognitive distance between self and content, is emphasized as it is theorized to have potential for decreasing internalized racial oppression and facilitating healing from racial trauma. This intervention is the first of its kind to specifically target internalized racial oppression within an ACT framework. Given the success of ACT techniques on decreasing stigma for substance users, this project hopes to understand if the core processes can decrease internalized racial oppression. This question has implications for the utility of ACT in addressing pressing social problems.

Research Area Keyword(s):

Race, racism, internalized racism, racial identity, discrimination