General, Leading Stories, Articles
Working with clients of color requires training, more listening
By Catherine Robertson Souter
In a perfect world, the color of one’s skin should not affect a therapeutic relationship. However, this is America 2020 and it apparently does. For instance, studies have shown that therapy dropout rates are significantly higher for Blacks than for whites when they work with white therapists. “In general, African-Americans tend to have higher drop-out rates because therapy has historically been considered an institutional privilege,” said Martin Pierre, Ph.D, the president-elect of the Massachusetts Psychological Association (MPA). In a 2014 study by the Trauma Research Institute, at Alliant International University, San Diego, CA, researchers found communication problems cited by 82 [More]
Tags: therapy, psychologists, cultural diversity, race, oppression, people of color, African-Americans, white therapist, racial background
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Psychologists grapple with issues of racism, diversity in therapy
By Pamela Berard
As the world becomes more diverse, it’s a good time for psychologists to have a social justice philosophy for their practices, according to Charmain F. Jackman, Ph.D. Everybody benefits when we’re all working toward cultural competency,” said Jackman, a licensed clinical/forensic psychologist whose metro-Boston area private practice, Innovative Psychological Services, recently hosted a panel discussion, “Join the Conversation: Navigating Racism & Other ‘Isms’ in Therapy.” Attendees discussed strategies for mental health professionals to effectively address issues such as racism, xenophobia and heterosexism, whether working with clients who have experienced discrimination, with clients who express offensive comments in sessions or through [More]
Tags: therapy, psychologists, racism, diversity, MeToo movement, sexual harassment, sexual assault, discrimination, microaggression, cultural diversity, client-therapist interaction, different backgrounds, political issues, social issues, racial epithet
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