King’s College London’s (KCL) Doctorate in Clinical Psychology training course has been widely criticised in the press and media recently for organising “critical race-theory-inspired ‘race-segregated’” classes for its trainees. According to Frederick Attenborough of the Free Speech Union, critics have warned that such classes, which are funded by the NHS, “risk creating exclusionary environments, stifling dialogue, and undermining the principles of equal participation and free speech.”
According to a report in the Daily Telegraph sources within KCL expressed concerns that the university was ‘hooked on identity politics’ with one critic saying “‘wokeness’ was seeding racial divisions and turning students into victims”.
The Daily Telegraph states that the race-segregated sessions had “allegedly ended up dividing white students and those from ethnic minorities into separate groups for discussion about race and identity”. Students from ethnic minority backgrounds were reported to be “treated as ‘victims of the system’ regardless of background”. On the other hand, ‘addressing whiteness’ classes for white students allegedly taught them that “colonialism was ‘their responsibility’ and that they personally must accept and correct the mistakes of their ancestors, regardless of where they come from”. KCL has claimed that they “did not promote this message”.
According to the Telegraph some students reported finding the race-segregated approach “so alienating that it risked damaging relationships across racial lines”. Further claims were made that the “addressing whiteness” teaching left some students with the impression that white people “do not have any culture and all white people are culturally indifferentiable”.
You can read further reports in the Daily Mail and on the GB News website.
Sir John Hayes, a former government minister and chair of the Common Sense group for MPs and peers has said he will write to the Equality and Human Rights Commission “to seek an investigation in to the matter”.
KCL, defended the initiative, explaining that “these reflective sessions” formed “part of our commitment to NHS England and Health Education England’s action plans to improve equality in access to healthcare and support diversity in the workforce. The sessions are common across clinical psychology courses and were developed in response to trainee feedback”.
In response to the press and media interest in this story, Carole Sherwood was invited to take part in a live panel debate on BBC Radio 4’s programme ‘Antisocial’ on Friday 24th January. She appeared in her capacity as an Advisory Council member of Don’t Divide Us, the UK’s common-sense voice on race. In the debate, she made the case that the methods used by Critical Race Theory, such as segregation by skin colour, are divisive and have no place in clinical psychology training courses. She also pointed out that KCL is not the only course where students are raising concerns. You can listen to the debate here.
As a footnote, readers may recall Carole Sherwood and Kirsty Miller’s report on the politicisation of clinical psychology courses, released in 2022. In this they highlighted the major role of Health Education England and NHS England’s action plan in embedding Critical Social Justice ideology, and particularly Critical Race Theory, in training courses. They also raised concerns in their report about ‘Whiteness’ training, developed by Professor Nimisha Patel at the University of East London, and funded by The British Psychological Society. At last, it seems that these misguided (though some would argue well-intentioned) initiatives are being put under the spotlight and subjected to public scrutiny.
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