Interview with Dorothy Evans Holmes, Ph.D.

I first met Dr. Dorothy Evans Holmes in 2005, shortly after she became the Program Director of the Clinical Psychology PsyD Program at the George Washington University. At that time, I was an early career psychologist practicing at Georgetown University Medical Center and teaching at Georgetown University Department of Psychology. I had two young children, and lived in Washington, DC for just two years. It was my good fortune to have met Dr. Holmes during this transitional time, and to have an opportunity to supervise doctoral students at George Washington's PsyD program. By the time that I met Dr. Holmes, I had already read her pioneering scholarship on race and psychoanalysis which had a significant impact on my interest in psychoanalysis. She was one of my heroes even before I met her. Since our first meeting in Washington, our paths have crossed many times, only deepening my respect and appreciation of her brilliance, eloquence, dignity, and grace. On one such occasion in 2017, I had the privilege of formally recognizing Dr. Holmes and her contributions to multicultural scholarship and practice when I presented her with the Division 39 Diversity Award. I am honored to know her today as my colleague and friend, and to enjoy some time conversing with her about her personal background and her path into psychoanalysis. In a recent, informal interview, curious about her trajectory into psychoanalytic practice and scholarship, I continued to grow through her wisdom. What she shared with me is a gift to all of us, as we grapple with and commit ourselves to racial justice and more broadly, humanity, in psychoanalysis.