Health · Mental Health · 2 days ago
Psychologist says repeated racism can cause lasting trauma for Black people
Brazilian psychologist and psychoanalyst Lucas Veiga says repeated racism can cause Black people psychological stress comparable to the trauma of a car accident.
He is discussing the issue in an expanded edition of his book on Black people’s mental health in a racist society.
Racism can include direct insults as well as everyday acts such as being followed by security staff or seeing someone clutch a bag when a Black person passes.
A 2024 Datafolha survey found that 56% of Black Brazilians reported discrimination, compared with 17% of mixed-race people and 7% of white people.
Veiga says racism can damage self-esteem and make people feel uneasy about their bodies or blame themselves for abuse.
He argues that care should help people recognize racism as a social problem, value their bodies and heritage, and rebuild their self-image.
He also says psychologists need to study racism and that therapy can provide a place of protection and support.
Psychologist and psychoanalyst Lucas Veiga says racism can expose Black people to recurring psychological trauma, comparing its effects to experiencing a car accident every week.
Veiga's book, "Clínica do impossível: como pessoas negras podem cuidar da saúde mental em um mundo racista," argues that mental health care must recognize racism as a social problem that shapes people's inner lives.
The article cites a 2024 Datafolha survey in which 56% of Black respondents reported discrimination, compared with 17% of mixed-race respondents and 7% of white respondents.
Veiga describes "becoming Black" as a process of political awareness, affirming one's body, and rebuilding identity and self-image.
He says therapy can help Black patients address self-blame and feelings of inferiority, while placing responsibility for racial violence on racism and those who uphold it.
The book also encourages affirming life and claiming the right to inhabit one's body, the city, and other spaces with confidence and joy.
- Who
- Psychologist and psychoanalyst Lucas Veiga
- What
- Veiga's views on racism's effects on Black people's mental health and the role of therapy
- When
- Published October 10, 2026; the cited Datafolha survey was conducted in 2024
- Where
- Not stated
- Why
- To explain how recurring racism can harm mental health and how culturally aware therapy may help people respond
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- Book
- "Clínica do impossível: como pessoas negras podem cuidar da saúde mental em um mundo racista," published by Paidós in 2026
- Earlier edition
- The book is an expanded reissue of "Clínica do Impossível: Linhas de Fuga e de Cura," released in 2021
- Reported discrimination among Black respondents
- 56% in the 2024 Datafolha survey
- Reported discrimination among mixed-race respondents
- 17% in the 2024 Datafolha survey
- Reported discrimination among white respondents
- 7% in the 2024 Datafolha survey
What people are saying
How does a person who is a victim of a case of racism every week recover from post-traumatic stress if what causes the trauma keeps happening?
Our body is our first home. It is with this body that we live and exercise our humanity.
Our greatest revenge against racism is to live well.
Sources
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