Biography

Guilaine Kinouani, Founder Race Reflections.

I am an Award-winning radical psychologist and group analyst, scholar, activist and I’d like to think…a bit of a fashion connoisseur. A current PhD researcher, in psychosocial studies (yes…still. Long story another book on this one day) at Birkbeck.

Fundamentally I am simply a writer and on a good day, a thinker.

Manuscripts

My first book Living While Black (Ebury: Penguin Random House) exposed the impact of lived experiences of racism on black minds and bodies. It’s a book that aims to offer clinal support to support people experiencing racial trauma and those who work with them. It was published in June 2021. Became a Guardian book of the year in the same year.

My second book White Minds (Policy Press: Bristol University) is a psychosocial exploration of how psychic and social structures intersect to reproduce whiteness and consequent everyday race dynamics, inequality and violence. In this book I use much of my group analytic training to think about racialisation and associated group dynamics. It was published in October 2023.

My third book, Creative Disruption (Palgrave MacMillan), is a co-edited (with my peers Hannah Reeves and Claudia Di Gianfrancesco) volume which is part of the Studies in the psychosocial series that considers the potential of creative disruption as praxis when it comes to knowledge production and associated onto-epistemic matters. It has a particular emphasis on disciplinary intersections, mergings and tensions. The book is expected in 2024.

I am currently working on three book manuscripts in my spare time. A book on love. A book on home which is a long standing project…and a collection of essay on whiteness. All those are different stages of development hence, I can’t say much more. My priority is the PhD…I expect to finish all three within 24-36 months.

Selected conference presentations and peer-reviewed articles

Kinouani, G. (2022) The Heart of rhythm: Congolese music as creative disruption and psychosocial resistance. June 20 2022, Birkbeck College: London.

Kinouani, G. (2020). Silencing, power, and racial trauma in groups. Group Analysis, 53(2), 145-161.

Kinouani, G. (2019). Whiteness and the group analytic matrix: an integrated formulation. Group Analysis, 53(1), 60-74.

Kinouani, G. (2019). The workplace discrimination survey: Findings and implications. January 10th, 2019. Chester: The British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology Annual Conference.

Kinouani, G. (2018). Injustice: the root cause of psychological distress? November 19th, 2018. University of Melbourne.

Kinouani, G. (2018). Racial Trauma in children, Family, Race, Resources: understanding assets and challenges for BME parents. May 22nd, 2018. Birmingham: Runnymede Trust.

Kinouani, G. (2018). Trauma, moral injury and moral courage, marginalised experiences in clinical psychology, can we truly be allies? July 9th, 2018. London: British Psychological Society.

Kinouani, G. (2018). The Cycle of oppression: a framework for more socially and culturally informed formulations. Working with the marginalised: Formulating beyond the mainstream. July 9th, 2018. London: The British Psychological Society.

Kinouani, G. (2017). What can neurodiversity diversity teach us about power and difference? Neurodiversity Longtable. 22nd June 201. London: DIY Culture.

Research and clinical interests

My academic, clinical and research interests are centred on issues of migration, displacement, racism and social/structural inequality/violence and, (in) justice and in particular:

*The development of more socio-politically informed tools and models of therapeutic/clinical intervention and, liberatory clinical practice

*The influence/impact of white supremacy/racism and whiteness on the mental health, and psychological functioning of people of colour and particularly, on people of the African diaspora

*Psychological distress and healing in people of colour and in other marginalised groups

*The intersection of racial trauma, discrimination with other traumatic experiences, a model I refer to as the ‘intersection of trauma’ (see book 1).

*The theoretical bridge(s) between the socio-economic, the political, the historical, the structural, the relational and the psychological

*The psychological, relational and structural sequelae of colonialism/ imperialism and related intergenerational trauma

Professional background

I previously taught critical psychology and black studies at Syracuse University in London, my long-standing involvement in anti-racism has deeply influenced my scholarship and thinking.

Before my doctorate, I completed a degree in Cultural Studies, studied Psychology then Counselling Psychology after obtaining a Masters in Transcultural Mental Health. I have since completed further studies in psychoanalysis and in group analysis.

Professionally, I have worked with some of the most marginalised groups, within inner city London and Paris (the latter being) where I was born and bred as a result, I am naturally drawn to community/critical psychology and liberatory approaches to clinical practice as I find them more socially and politically engaged and more epistemologically consistent with my worldview.

Nevertheless, I do find relational and psychoanalytic/group analytic concepts useful. And I am equally interested in compassion-based models, and in philosophy. In the past I have held a number of management/senior management posts focused on equality and justice in the field of community development, engagement and research. I freelanced as a training and ‘race & culture’ consultant directly prior to starting my clinical psychology journey.

Clinically, most of my experience has been with adults diagnosed with more ‘severe’, ‘complex’ and/or ‘enduring’ psychological difficulties and with very high levels of distress, many of whom were compulsorily detained under the Mental Health Act (1983) or otherwise deprived of their liberty as such, a large proportion of my experience has been with people of colour.

I founded the Minorities in Clinical Psychology Training Group (@minoritiesgroup) which I have chaired and co-chaired for over 4 years, to help address some of the challenges individuals from traditionally marginalised groups face within and on their way to, doctoral training and studies.

I love chocolate, coats and music (especially Congolese). They are pretty much all I need to survive. I usually take life way too seriously. I am at peace with this though, some of us are just made this way. RaceReflections.co.uk is my baby. Articles and essays published here have all been written by me (except our new ‘Guest Reflections’).

About Race Reflections

This site started as a platform to share my reflections and work to influence the way people think about and do equality, justice and liberation. It is born out of my sheer spirit of defiance and resistance. The act of me ‘speaking anyway’ as I write in White Minds.

The baby is growing…to celebrate her 6th anniversary, Race Reflections took her first steps as a closed membership site. This was almost four years ago! I thank all of you for the support you have shown me during that uncertain transition.

In addition to the services we have offered since inception, a range of memberships options are now available but can only be accessed during open enrolment/subscription periods. To join waiting the subscription waiting list or newsletter, please use the contact form below.