Someone recently sent me a viral reel of a Black man explaining why he quit therapy: His therapist had never heard of colorism. He shared that his relationship with his darker-skinned brother had been strained because the world treated them differently. The therapist looked confused and asked, “Wait, there’s a preference for color?”
In that moment, the client made a decision. He stood up, ended the session, and said, “I need to leave. You don’t know anything about Black people. How is it that I am paying you, and yet I am teaching you?” He never went back, illustrating yet another way in which racial disparities in mental health care are created.
As a licensed clinical psychologist, I understand exactly why he walked out. His therapist was not just unfamiliar with a cultural concept. She was unfamiliar with a fundamental system of bias that shapes life chances, including educational and occupational outcomes, identity development, relationships, and health—including mental health—for millions of people around the world.
Colorism is a global skin tone stratification system that systematically privileges lighter-skinned people over their darker-skinned counterparts. It occurs across and within racial and ethnic groups—and yes, families—and is a documented reality in communities around the world, including the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and South Asia.
Colorism, which assigns value based on proximity to whiteness, is closely related to racism. The distinction lies in the fact that racism operates across racial groups, whereas colorism operates both within and across them. For example, both a darker-skinned Black person and a lighter-skinned Black person may experience racism; however, colorism determines which of them is perceived as safer, smarter, more attractive, or more employable. Those perceptions shape differential opportunities and treatment among people within the same racial group.
Colorism has measurable mental health consequences. It impacts interpersonal relationships, including family dynamics and dating experiences. Experiencing colorism has been associated with an increased risk for psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, eating disorders, substance use, and suicidal ideation. More recently, scholars have conceptualized colorism as a form of minority stress and trauma.
Despite this evidence, most mental health professionals have never been trained to recognize colorism or understand its psychological impact. Many students move through entire graduate programs without ever hearing the term. Even if they do encounter the concept, many clinicians assume colorism is simply a “preference for lighter skin tone” or an internal community conflict rather than a system rooted in colonial history and global anti-Blackness. This is not surprising, given that the field remains predominantly White even though communities seeking care are increasingly diverse.
It’s past time that psychologists understand colorism as a social determinant of mental health. The vast majority of the world and the patient population is impacted by colorism. Graduate programs, licensing boards, and continuing education providers must take responsibility for integrating this concept and its harmful effects into core clinical training.
Taking these steps might feel scary while we live in a political climate in which efforts to increase cultural responsiveness are under political and legal attack. But dismantling DEI efforts and labelling cultural responsiveness as discriminatory does not make the lived realities of our clients disappear.
As psychologists and therapists, it is our responsibility to be culturally responsive. Providing safe and effective services lies at the very core of our profession. This means that we must take active steps to continue to include cultural responsiveness, including colorism, in our funding, research, training, and clinical practice.
Until we take these steps, clients will continue to quietly walk out of therapy rooms that were supposed to be safe. As they do, they take their trust, their stories, and their healing with them.
To find a therapist, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.