As group therapists, we at MAGPS are all too familiar with the process of "scapegoating," whereby a member of the group becomes marginalized and then an attempt is made to ostracize or expel that member. This process is always an effort to expel those aspects of ourselves that we are afraid to confront and understand, but in no way does this behavior serve the broader goals of any group and instead undermines the group itself.

 

Like many organizations that serve to foster inclusiveness and the study of both small and large group dynamics, we must speak openly against the bigotry and racial violence that has been occurring unchecked. We publically condemn any words or action that serve only to segregate and silence people based on the color of their skin, their religious views, their ethnicity, their sexual orientation or their gender identification. As a community of psychotherapists, we are dedicated to ameliorating the trauma of being marginalized and ostracized and we are fully prepared to speak out against what we see as an emerging culture of intolerance and threat to our most vulnerable friends, neighbors, colleagues and family members. MAGPS is itself a group of diverse professionals and we are dedicated to the protection of civil rights for all people. We would like to offer to all people, a place of understanding and compassion, where inclusion, freedom of speech, diversity of thought, and the courage to be are always welcome.