When addressing the pernicious effects of racial discrimination, majority white psychoanalysts and psychotherapists like to believe that their psychological awareness enables them to avoid engaging in prejudice and racism. As a result, when asked to acknowledge their implication in systemic racism, powerful counter-reactions from shame and guilt to feelings of vulnerability and discomfort result. Meaningful dialogue about white racism and the effects of coloniality in Canada and the United States requires acknowledging the limits of understanding, to be unsettled and ultimately to embrace discomfort. It also requires an awareness of the history of prejudice and racism and its impact on the disciplines of psychology, psychoanalysis and psychotherapy.