What is it about?
This article explores how colorism within and across communities influences the emotional world of clients and therapists in ways that often go unnoticed. The author explains that beliefs about skin tone, beauty, and social value are internalized from childhood from multiple contexts (family, social communities, larger social political context, media) and this can shape how people see themselves and relate to others. These skin tone fantasies (i.e., the stories we tell ourselves about what different skin tones mean can affect the therapeutic relationship, even when neither person is consciously aware of it. In therapy, clients may project certain qualities onto a therapist based on the therapist's skin tone, or they may carry shame, pride or confusion about their own skin tone. Therapists, too, may bring their own internalized messages about skin color into the room. These subtle dynamics can influence trust, vulnerability and how safe or seen a client/therapist feels. By slowing down and noticing these patterns, therapy can be a powerful place to explore how colorism impacts identity, self-esteem, relationships and emotional well-being. Dr. Gupta emphasizes the importance of therapists developing cultural awareness and self-reflection so they can better understand how skin tone biases shape their perceptions and their relational defenses. When therapists create space for conversations about colorism, clients can work through deeply rooted beliefs about worth and belonging. This article encourages both clients and therapists to recognize colorism not just as a social issue, but as a psychological experience that deserves attention and healing.
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Why is it important?
Dr. Gupta's work is unique because it brings psychoanalytic insight to a topic often discussed socially but not often examined inside the therapy room. At a time when conversations about race, representation and cultural identity are expanding worldwide, this article offers a timely look at how colorism impacts mental health, not abstractly, but in the intimate, moment-to-moment interactions of therapy. By highlighting the emotional and unconscious layers of skin tone bias and discrimination, Dr. Gupta provides therapists with a framework to engage these issues with greater sensitivity and depth.
Perspectives
A clinician working across cultures and skin-tone hierarchies, I have repeatedly witnessed how colorism can shape a person's internal world and their external realities. My interest in this topic grew out of noticing how often clients carried emotional wounds linked to their skin tone and how rarely it was discussed and acknowledged. These moments made it clear to me that colorism is not just a social or cultural issue, it is a psychological experiences that impacts identity, self-worth and the ability to be fully seen in therapy. Over time, I also became aware of how therapists, myself included, are not immune to the internalized messages we inherit about skin color from our families, communities, the larger sociopolitical context and popular culture/media. These unexamined beliefs can influence how we perceive, respond to, or even emotionally resonate with clients. This realization motivated me to explore the unconscious fantasies and projections that arise around skin tone, and to understand how they shape the relational field of therapy. My perspective is rooted in the belief that therapy must be a place where clients feel free to explore all aspects of their identity, including the parts that society has silenced or stigmatized. By bringing colorism into the therapeutic conversation, we deepen our ability to witness clients in their full complexity. My hope is that this work encourages therapists to engage these topics with openness and self-reflection, and to recognize the transformative potential of acknowledging skin tone dynamics in healing.
Dr. Komal Ramchandani Gupta
Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute Inc
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Skin tone fantasies, colorism, and the therapeutic relationship., Psychoanalytic Psychology, October 2025, American Psychological Association (APA),
DOI: 10.1037/pap0000568.
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